Man pretending to be cop orders woman to ground, court records show
Larry Copeland (Cobb County Sheriff's Office)
MARIETTA, Ga. - A Marietta man faces multiple felony charges in Cobb County after allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer to detain a woman and throw her phone in a pond, court records show.
Cobb County police investigation
What we know:
Larry Copeland, of Marietta, was charged with impersonating an officer, false imprisonment, robbery by sudden snatching, and second-degree criminal damage to property, according to a criminal warrant filed in Cobb County Magistrate Court.
Investigators said the incident occurred last Wednesday evening at Lost Mountain Park off Dallas Highway in Powder Springs.
Officer Bruce Borah stated in the warrant that Copeland approached a woman at the park while shining a flashlight in her face.
Copeland told the woman he was law enforcement and ordered her to get on the ground or he would shoot, according to the warrant.
Norris initially complied with the verbal commands, believing it was a lawful order.
While Norris was lying prone on the ground, Copeland snatched her iPhone 13 Max and threw it into a nearby pond, intentionally causing damage in excess of $500, according to court documents.
Unanswered case details
What we don't know:
Court documents do not state whether Copeland was armed with an actual weapon during the encounter.
Officials have not yet confirmed if the stolen iPhone was recovered from the pond.
Magistrate court proceedings
What's next:
Magistrate Judge Quinn M. Kasper issued the arrest warrant on Aug. 20.
Copeland was ordered held without bond after he was deemed a danger to the person or community, court records show.
He remained in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center as of Thursday evening.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from a Cobb County Magistrate Court criminal warrant affidavit filed by Officer Bruce Borah.