LI Man Impersonated FBI Agent, Unlawfully Imprisoned Woman: Police

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Center Moriches man was arrested Thursday night after he impersonated an FBI agent and unlawfully imprisoned a woman, police said.

According to Suffolk County police, Brandon Knapp, 27, of Center Moriches, was arrested on Whitebrook Drive in Riverhead at 10:11 p.m.

Knapp, claiming to be an FBI agent, made contact with a 28-year-old woman after she posted on a social media website, police said.

The woman then invited him to meet her at a relative’s residence in Commack, where Knapp convinced her he could take her to a safe house, police said.

When he and the woman left in a 2004 Mercedes Benz, a concerned family member called her cell phone, police said. After speaking with her, the family member feared for her safety and called police, who were able to locate the vicinity of her phone, police said.

Southampton Town police were dispatched to the area, and the woman was dropped off at a nearby restaurant, police said. Southampton Town police responded to the location and transported her to the Seventh Precinct, authorities said.

Following an investigation by Fourth Squad detectives, Knapp was identified and located in the Mercedes in Riverhead, and he surrendered to a canine section officer, police said.

Knapp was arrested and charged with second-degree criminal impersonation and second-degree unlawful imprisonment, police said.

He was held overnight and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Friday, police said.

Detectives are asking anyone who believes they might have been a victim of Knapp’s to contact the Fourth Squad detectives at 631-854-8451.