Pregnant Driver Punched, Robbed by Fake Cops: State Police

POWELLVILLE, MD — A New York woman driving through Maryland was stopped by three men posing a police officers in an SUV outfitted with emergency lights, authorities say. The pregnant woman was punched in the stomach, doused with pepper spray in the face and robbed, Maryland State Police say.

Officials are searching for three suspects who reportedly impersonated police officers when they stopped the 38-year-old woman from Brooklyn, New York, on a road in Worcester County about 6 p.m. Thursday. Authorities on are the lookout for a black Chevrolet SUV, with unknown Maryland registration plates, that the assailants were driving. The victim said the SUV was equipped with red and blue flashing lights.

The victim was en route to Norfolk, Virginia, when she was stopped and assaulted. Authorities say she was treated for exposure to pepper spray and examined at Peninsula Regional Medical Center before being released.

The woman called 911 call from her vehicle as she was driving away from the location where she had been stopped; troopers told her her to wait and found her in the area of Powellville Road and Webb Road, in Powellville. Investigators believe the driver was stopped and assaulted in the area of Whiton Road at Snow Hill Road in Worcester County.

When the impostor SUV's driver turned on the red and blue lights, the woman pulled over, thinking it was a police vehicle. One suspect walked up to the driver side of the car and sprayed pepper spray into the vehicle before spraying it onto a towel that he held over her face. As the woman got out of her rental car she was reportedly punched in the stomach by the suspect.

A second suspect — armed with a small black handgun and wearing a gold badge on a chain around his neck — stole her purse, which contained cash and an ornately jeweled belt of great value. The victim said the third suspect remained at the rear of the suspects’ vehicle.

Despite a search throughout the night for the suspects, they were not found.

The suspects are described as:

• The first suspect is described as an African American man with short hair and a full beard. He was wearing a black suit, white shirt and tie.
• The second suspect is described as an African American man who is bald, with no facial hair and was wearing black pants and a white shirt. He was carrying a small black handgun.
• The third suspect is described as a white man with either a shaved head or short hair. He was wearing a zippered, black, hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Anyone who may have seen these vehicles stopped in the area of Whiton Road and Snow Hill Road Thursday night, or who may have seen a vehicle matching the suspect vehicle description, is asked to contact Maryland State Police at 410-749-3101, or 410-641-3101. Callers may remain anonymous.