Fla. man impersonates deputy to burglarize cruisers at auto dealership

By Angie DiMichele
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — A man was arrested Monday after he allegedly pretended to be a Broward Sheriff’s deputy at a car dealership in Pompano Beach in order to steal from a squad car at the business, a probable cause affidavit said.

Brian Kelly, 27, was being held in the North Broward Bureau as of Thursday evening on a dozen charges, including burglary-related charges, grand theft charges, impersonating a law enforcement officer in commission of a felony, unlawful possession of the personal ID of another and wearing a mask while committing a second-degree felony, jail records show.

Pompano Beach deputies were called to the dealership in the 1800 block of West Atlantic Boulevard about 3 p.m. Saturday, where the sales manager said a man came in about an hour earlier wearing a green Sheriff’s Office shirt and a Sheriff’s Office ID around his neck, the affidavit said.

The man, later identified as Kelly, told dealership staff he was a Sheriff’s deputy and needed to retrieve belongings from a marked BSO car, the affidavit said. An employee walked the man to the marked squad car, and the affidavit said at the time it was not known what he took.

Then at 9 p.m. Sunday, the same man who came to the dealership Saturday was seen on security footage, this time wearing a mask over the lower half of his face, entering the property, along with another man and a woman, who was later identified as Kasie Ruderman, 36. The affidavit said the video showed them breaking into “numerous structures” on the property, shattering glass doors and damaging walls.

Kelly, the other man and Ruderman burglarized three more BSO cars at the dealership, according to the affidavit. It was not immediately known Thursday night whether the third suspect seen on video has been identified or has been arrested.

Deputies recognized Kelly and Ruderman from the surveillance video, and Kelly was found on Monday riding a bicycle in the area of Northwest Fourth Street and Powerline Road in Pompano Beach. Ruderman was also arrested Monday and found with a substance that tested positive for cocaine, according to the affidavit.

Kelly was found with Sheriff’s Office equipment and identification while he was being arrested, the affidavit said, and credit cards and IDs of other victims. He showed the deputies where he had hidden other BSO property, according to the affidavit. The affidavit did not elaborate on what the items were.

Ruderman was held in the North Broward Bureau as of Thursday evening on burglary- and grand-theft-related charges, theft of law enforcement equipment from an emergency vehicle in addition to one count of possession of cocaine, jail records show.