| August 9, 2006 |
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| Valdese Man Charged with
Impersonating Officer |
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 |
A Valdese man
was charged Wednesday with impersonating a law enforcement officer, after he
reportedly tried to pass himself off as an investigator to a local
woman.
Actual sheriff's investigators allege Billy Joe Cox, 45, of 202
Lovelady Road telephoned the woman, Paulette Barrier, around 12:15 AM on
Tuesday morning and identified himself as a detective with the Burke County
Sheriff's Office. |
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| According to a Sheriff's
Office report filed by the woman, the male caller told her he was assigned to
an investigation in which her son, Tim Barrier had passed away several years
earlier. |
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| Barrier told authorities
the man stated he was re-opening the case due to reports of child abuse in
which she was the suspect. |
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| Investigators with the
Sheriff's Office were reportedly able to trace the call back to Cox. |
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| Detectives stated Cox
told them he had worked with Tim Barrier, and felt his death was suspicious and
needed to be solved. The man said his actions were prompted after reading an
article in the Morganton News
Herald concerning unsolved cases in Burke County. |
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| Cox was placed under a
$500 bond and will have a Burke County District Court appearance on August
30th. |
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