Largo man faces charges for impersonating an officer 4 times

CLEARWATER, FL (WFLA) – A Largo man is now facing four charges for the same crime – impersonating a police officer, according to Pinellas County Jail records. The suspect also faces one count of aggravated assault.

Friday morning Clearwater police issued a report about charging Todd Blumencranz, 35, with impersonating a police officer. Largo police also issued a statement Friday about charging him with impersonating an officer and aggravated assault. These charges are in addition to two previous impersonation charges last week.

Blumencranz is accused of pulling over a woman for speeding. The victim was on her way to work on March 17 at Belcher and Nursery roads. The woman told officers she was pulled over by a silver car that had red and white lights on the mirror and dashboard. The man allegedly told her he was an off-duty police officer on his way to work, took her license back to his car and also pretended to communicate via an earpiece. He also had a clipboard with him, the victim said.RELATED: Think a fake cop is pulling you over? Here’s what real cops say you should do

The would-be officer told her he was going to let her off with a warning, law enforcement said. The woman contacted police once she got to work. She later positively identified Blumencranz – from a photo pack – as the one who pulled her over, according to officers.

News Channel 8 spoke with that victim, LaShannon Thomas, Friday night.

“I was afraid and still am afraid, actually,” LaShannon said. “He just pulled out of nowhere and put his little lights on and said I was speeding.”

She said she eventually realized it was all an act. “The whole demeanor (gave it away,” LaShannon said. “Like he was afraid, trembling in his voice, stuttering.”

The next morning, Blumencranz allegedly tried to pull over another car on East Bay Drive near Belcher Road in Largo. Largo police said he followed the car driven by a 27-year-old woman in a 2007 Nissan Altima with flashing red and white light on the dashboard. The woman didn’t pull over, and he pulled up next to her car and asked her to stop again, police said. She kept going. The victim told police the man was driving recklessly and changing speeds, and she was afraid he might hit her car. This resulted in the aggravated assault charge in addition to the impersonation charges for Blumencranz.

This victim was too afraid to share her story, but her fiance remembers listening to her tell him what happened. “She was very (shaken) up, frightened for her life,” Larry Moore said. “I don’t (want) my fiance to live her life like this feeling like she can’t go to work.”

Just last week, Blumencranz was arrested by Largo police for claiming he was a Pinellas County undercover narcotics deputy. Prior to that, he chased a woman in his 2007 Nissan Altima going up to speeds of 120 miles per hour pretending to be a cop, law enforcement said.

That victim gave News Channel 8 a play-by-play of that scary chase, which took place on US 19.

“I break-checked him and when I break-checked him, he didn’t stop,” Amber Nottingham said. “I swerved over. He swerved over and then he started chasing me.”

“I mean there was just one sole light,” she said. “Cops don’t do that. They usually have a bunch of lights and you can hear them telling you to pull over.”

As for LaShannon, she’s just glad everyone is OK. “I just thank God that nothing happened because anything could have happened,” she said.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON RIGHT NOW:

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