| For Immediate Release Case # 08CF0180
May 19, 2008 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Public Affairs Counsel Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
HUNTINGTON BEACH FELON CONVICTED OF IMPERSONATING A FIRE FIGHTER AT DISASTER SCENES INCLUDING HURRICANE KATRINA
AND WORLD TRADE CENTER
SANTA ANA – A convicted felon accused of impersonating a Los Angeles County Fire Fighter Paramedic was convicted today after pleading guilty to the court to two felony counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one misdemeanor count of fraudulently impersonating fire personnel. James Charles Campbell, 45, was sentenced to 120 days in custody, which the Court allowed him to serve in home confinement over the objection of the People.
Campbell has prior felony convictions in Arizona related to burglaries and the fraudulent misuse of credit cards. He was working in Arizona as an emergency medical technician for a local ambulance company, where his paramedic license was later revoked based on his felony convictions. Campbell obtained an Emergency Medical Technician license in May 1995 in the state of California. California revoked Campbell’s license in November 1997 because he failed to disclose his prior felony convictions.
Campbell was arrested at his home shortly before 8:00 a.m. on September 7, 2007, by County District Attorney’s Office investigators. He was found in possession of a handgun, a shotgun, and Los Angeles County Fire Department equipment in his house.
Between 2001 and the present, Campbell pretended to be a Los Angeles Fire Department Paramedic Captain who flies helicopters for the Department. He obtained a uniform with Los Angeles patches and a badge and carried a wallet badge and firefighter identification with him at all times. The defendant showed up at the scenes of national and local disasters including the World Trade Center after Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and Hurricane Dean, and falsely represented himself as a paramedic in the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He gained access to secure fire areas in California and was on the front line of the Sawtooth fire in San Bernardino County and the Esperanza fire in Riverside County with a video camera. He was also present at the Placentia Metrolink accident.
Campbell owns an Anaheim business, Frontline Safety Products, which sells fire safety equipment online and offers cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training courses. Under the false pretense of being a firefighter, Campbell has been hired to teach CPR to local Southern California government agencies and private industries.
Deputy District Attorney Andre Manssourian of the Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted this case.
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