A Sacramento man pretending to be an immigration agent charged for illegally holding an immigrant family captive in a hotel overnight has pleaded guilty:

Jeremy Christian Brickner, 30, entered guilty pleas last week before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco to impersonating a federal agent and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Brickner admitted that Eugene Kesselman hired him to arrest Kesselman’s estranged wife and her 10-year-old daughter on the basis that an immigration judge had issued an order for their deportation.

On May 11, 2006, Brickner falsely identified himself as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent, arrested the mother and daughter in San Francisco and detained them overnight in a hotel room in South San Francisco where they spent the night.

Brickner carried business cards that read “U.S. Immigration and Deportation, Deportation Agent,” a handgun, handcuffs and a badge shaped like a star, federal prosecutors said.

A quick Google search on this guy turns up a bunch of interesting stuff. And in a Washington Post article from last year, Brickner described himself as a “bounty hunter” who had to “push the limits”. The Washington Post also reports that in 2005 Brickner had twice “pleaded guilty to carrying weapons illegally, the affidavit said. In one instance, he was carrying a loaded gun and a Taser while using an illegal red flashing light to pull over a motorist in California.”

So remember, kids, just because someone pulls you over and holds you illegally doesn’t necessarily mean they are a federal immigration agent. Happy travels!

Via / SF Gate