Five charged with impersonation waive preliminary hearings

February 28, 2007|by DON AINES

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Five people charged with using red and blue lights to pull over an off-duty police officer waived their preliminary hearings Tuesday in Franklin County Central Court.

Pennsylvania State Police charged the five with impersonating a public servant and criminal conspiracy to impersonate a public servant in the December incident in Quincy Township. They were scheduled for mandatory arraignment in Franklin County Court on April 4, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Cory Eugene Ausherman, 19, of 12139 Redhawk Drive; Michael B. Stine, 18, of 8361 Shank Hess Road; Travis L. Plume, 20, of 549 Pratt Court; and Cody Trussell, 19, of 4684 Orphanage Road, all of Waynesboro, Pa.; and Billy A. Hall III, 23, of 8 E. Frederick St., Walkersville, Md., were charged in the incident that began at about 1:45 a.m. on Dec. 19 on Pa. 997 near Tomstown Road, police said.

The charges are second-degree misdemeanors, according to court documents. Two juvenile females also were involved, Assistant District Attorney Angela Krom said.

Bryan Chappell, an off-duty Washington Township police officer, was driving a tow truck on Pa. 997 when a car pulled up behind him at high speed and he saw red and blue lights flashing, police said. Thinking it was an unmarked state police cruiser, Chappell pulled over and the other vehicle pulled over behind the tow truck.

At that point, another smaller vehicle went past and the vehicle that pulled Chappell over drove off, police said. Chappell followed the vehicles onto Nunnery Road, where the smaller vehicle crashed through a fence at Newcomer's Auto Parts.

After going through the fence, the vehicle drove off, but it stopped on Wayne Highway due to mechanical problems and Chappell detained the occupants, identified in the affidavit of probable cause as Hall and Plume.

The affidavit alleges the group had earlier planned to try to pull over vehicles and used a red key chain and a blue pen light to simulate police vehicle lights.

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