Ex-Sheriff's Deputy Badges Surfacing in Wrong Places

Lee Stoffregen may no longer be Prince William sheriff, but a lingering -- some say troublesome -- reminder of his tenure remains: badges.

The five-point-star badges, given to more than 100 reserve deputies during Stoffregen's years in office, should have been returned when he failed to win reelection in 2003. Many, however, weren't. Now no one can say exactly how many of the bogus badges are circulating among the general public, only that a few have surfaced over the years and that those flashing them are no longer on the right side of the law.

Just this week, Prince William police said a Gainesville man was arrested after he showed the badge to a parking enforcement officer.

The officer was patrolling the Costco parking lot on Sudley Manor Drive Jan. 28 when he stopped to write a ticket on the man's car at 1:42 p.m., police spokesman John Bogert said. The man then approached him, flashed the badge, and identified himself as a deputy sheriff, Bogert said.

The parking enforcement officer recognized the badge was outdated -- newer ones feature a circle around the star -- and called police. Officers arrived and arrested Emmanuel G. Moore, 43, of the 7200 block of Traphill Way.

He is charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer and is scheduled to appear in court March 8.

Stoffregen, reached by phone this week, said he didn't recognize Moore's name.

He also said he wasn't sure how many of the badges his office had issued, only that "we were trying to keep it at 100 people."

In the past, Stoffregen was accused of trading badges for campaign contributions. In 1999, a special prosecutor probed Stoffregen's political fundraising, focusing on the reserve deputy force. The prosecutor concluded that no criminal violation had occurred. At that time, records showed that about half of the 180 current and former reserve deputies or their relatives had contributed to Stoffregen's campaign, accounting for nearly $120,000.

The issue arose again during the last election, when Stoffregen's opponent, current Sheriff Glendell Hill (R), announced that he would disqualify anyone who contributed to his campaign from becoming a volunteer deputy.

Hill said that when he took office, he was concerned that "a significant number" of badges remained unaccounted for, which is why he changed the design to include the circle.

"I have no idea of how many badges are still out there and who is in possession of those badges," he said this week.

In the three years he has occupied the office, Hill said that about a half-dozen badges have been returned and that at least three people have been arrested for using them. He is not sure how many were returned before Stoffregen left the post.

"No one left me a list and said these people have badges. No inventory of names was left with me," Hill said.

Stoffregen said this week that he did leave a list and that Hill has had years to check it. He added that before leaving office, he sent letters and called the volunteer deputies to let them know the badges should be returned.

"They all understood that once I left office, those credentials were no longer honored," Stoffregen said. He added that anyone caught using them should face the consequences.

"If [the badges] have not been turned in, they are holding that badge illegally, and they need to be arrested."

As far as how many badges he believed remained among the general public, he said he had no way of knowing.

"I didn't keep the list," Stoffregen said.