Portland man arrested for tricking woman into believing she was training to be a DEA agent for YEAR

An Oregon man posed as a federal agent and convinced a woman that she was training to become a DEA officer for an entire year before the real feds were tipped off about the pair by local police, court documents revealed.

Robert Edward Golden, 41, is facing federal charges of impersonating a federal agent for the ruse, which saw him take his wide-eyed protégé on bogus ride-alongs throughout the city of Portland and gift her with a phony badge she thought was real, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

What’s more, the man even duped his malleable mentee to develop ‘confidential informants’ by speaking with homeless people. 

The name of the ‘trainee,’ as the complaint refers to her, was not specified in the filing. 

Portland police detained the pair last Tuesday after an officer noticed a bulletproof vest bearing the drug agency’s insignia in the open trunk of a parked car in the city’s downtown area, with the two standing by the vehicle, the filing reveals. 

The officer further noticed that the car, a silver Dodge Charger, had red-and-blue siren lights on the front interior and around the vehicle’s rear license plate. 

At that point, the officer, Sgt. Matt Jacobsen, approached Golden and the unnamed woman and asked if they were narcotics agents. 

Golden responded by insisting to the officer that they were ‘feds,’ the arrest report reveals, urging his naïve companion to show the officer her credentials, Jacobsen said following the arrest.

The woman then pulled out a badge bearing the bogus Drug Enforcement Administration credentials, the complaint reveals, spurring the officer to cuff and detain the pair.

While speaking with Golden, Jacobsen said that he also noticed the bottom of a holster peeking out from under Golden’s jacket, according to the complaint, leading the officer the confiscate the weapon, which was later determined to be a replica.

The gun did, however, contain live ammunition, according to police. 

At that point, Golden told the officer that he ‘had more police equipment in his vehicle and additional police equipment/and identification in his apartment,’ spurring him to search the vehicle. 

The sergeant subsequently came across several holsters in Golden’s trunk, along with a second tactical vest as well as badges, handcuffs, and more bogus credentials – as well as ‘an AR-15 style rifle (later identified as a bb gun),’ the complaint reveals. 

After restraining the pair, Jacobsen reached out to the federal agency’s district office in Portland, notifying agents of the situation and that he had come across two people claiming to be with the DEA. 

When agents arrived on the scene, Jacobsen briefed them on his suspicions, which were spurred by the bogus bulletproof vests – which bore the words ‘DEA POLICE’ in big, white lettering, in lieu of just ‘DEA’ in the usual yellow – and Golden’s unprofessional phraseology in insisting that they were ‘feds.’   

Portland police then transferred custody of the couple to the DEA that day, with the two being brought to the agency’s Portland office. 

After agents read him his rights, Golden, realizing the gravity of his situation, offered investigators another explanation, claiming he and his sidekick were ‘into cosplay,’ or costume play – a popular practice where fans of a certain work dress up as their favorite fictional characters.

During the interrogation, Golden changed his story again, saying he had the gear because he didn’t want anyone to bother him or his mentee around his apartment complex and used it for ‘protection,’ the filing further reveals.  

‘[He] didn’t want anyone to bother him or [the woman] in or around their apartment complex and felt the fake DEA items provided them protection and that he used the red and blue interior lights in his vehicle to get through traffic faster,’ the complaint further states.

The filings adds that Golden told investigators that he sometimes used the red-and-blue police lights on the Charger to ‘get through traffic faster,’ and that he once produced his phony badge while impersonating an agent, to try to break up a fight, investigators say. 

As Golden was questioned, his unwitting patsy was also subjected to interrogation.

She told agents she ‘was a DEA agent in training and was also attending school for Criminal Justice,’ according to the complaint, and that she had been under Golden’s wing for more than one year.  

The woman added that she had taken nightly ‘ride-alongs’ with Golden to conduct surveillance, with her mentor also having her practice shooting, police say. 

According to the filing, Golden had promised her that she’d eventually be training with other agents, giving them names such as ‘Agent Anderson,’ ‘Agent Luis,’ and ‘Agent Garcia’ – names agents later determined were fabricated by Golden.    

‘The DEA Portland District Office does not have any Special Agents in employment’ under those names, and the DEA does not provide ‘ride-a-longs [sic],’ the complaint reads.

The woman was not charged with any crime.

When investigators again spoke with Golden, however, they asked him about the supposed training he had imparted on his impressionable trainee, to which he detailed how he forced her to network with homeless people in the area to develop ‘CIs’ – or confidential informants – in case something happened to him.

‘Golden said he took her to speak with homeless individuals to develop “CIs” (confidential informants) for future use in case “something happened” to Golden and he was no longer around to take care of her,’ the complaint discloses. ‘Golden said when he and [the woman] approached the homeless individuals they had the DEA credentials displayed.’

Agents then discerned Golden had ‘tricked’ the woman into believing that he was ‘in fact a DEA agent and she is in fact in training to be a DEA agent.’ 

The filing did not reveal Golden’s motivations for running the scam for so long, with the exact nature of the relationship between the two at this point remaining unclear

He was held Thursday night in Portland’s downtown jail and returned to court again Friday afternoon.

After a short hearing, a judge released Golden from custody on a number of conditions. First, he must find and keep a full-time job or attend school or both.

He must also limit all his travel to within Oregon, unless he gains permission to leave the state. 

What’s more, the wannabe fed must also submit to drug testing, participate in a mental health evaluation, and address a pending warrant out of Texas within 30 days of his release. It is unclear what the Texas warrant stems from.

If Golden fails to adhere to these stipulations, the charges will resume. 

If convicted, Golden faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.