A Maryland woman who was indicted in 2022 for impersonating a U.S. Marshal has been acquitted of all charges.
Nijea Rich, 40, and Antoine Tuckson, 38, were charged on May 20, 2022 with impersonating a federal officer and conspiracy to impersonate a federal officer.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Tuckson was arrested on March 6, 2022 after he attempted to detain two customers at a restaurant in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Tuckson worked at the restaurant as a security guard. He wore a kevlar vest marked “POLICE,” a tactical belt with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol, and multiple ammunition clips.
Documents show Tuckson falsely identified himself to the arresting officers as a Deputy U.S. Marshal. He displayed a fake identification card and badge.
Tuckson’s patrol dog was turned over to Animal Services.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Tuckson had Nijea Rich pose as his U.S. Marshals Service supervisor.
Documents show Rich arrived at the location wearing tan tactical pants and a black kevlar vest. She carried a handgun, a radio, two sets of handcuffs and an expandable baton.
At one point, Rich allegedly told officers, “You locked up a U.S. Marshal?”
The next morning, Rich showed up at the Animal Services Department wearing a kevlar vest and displayed a card identifying her as a U.S. Marshal.
Rich allegedly told the employee that the man arrested the day before was a U.S. Marshal and that his dog was a working canine officer.
The employee released the dog to Rich who loaded the animal into a black sedan that looked like a police vehicle.
RELATED: Maryland man impersonated cop for 15 years
The U.S. Marshals Service searched its databases and found no record that Tuckson or Rich were U.S. Marshal employees.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Tuckson’s Waldorf, Maryland home and recovered firearms, including an AR-style rifle and a pistol-grip pump-action shotgun.
Tuckson went on trial in July 2023. He was convicted of impersonating an officer and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors stated Tuckson had impersonated a police officer for 15 years.
On July 7, 2023 Tuckson was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.
In an email to Sandrarose.com late Saturday, Nijea Rich confirmed she was acquitted of all charges.
She wrote:
SUBJECT
ARTICLE YOU DID ON MEMESSAGE
WOULD BE NICE TO DO AN UPDATE.I WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY BY JURY. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE. YOUR ARTICLE HAS QUITE A FEW LIES IN IT. I AM COMPLETELY REAL WITH ALL OF MY ACTIONS. HE DECEIVED MORE THAN A FEW…TO INCLUDE POLICE.
DEFAMED MY NAME BUT WON’T EVEN PRINT THE OUTCOME. GO FIGURE! WHOLE SITUATION RUINED MY LIFE. LEFT ME HOMELESS, PEOPLE STOPPED SPEAKING TO ME, GOV’T KEPT ME FROM MY SPIRITUAL ACTIVITIES, SEEING MY MOM AND ON AN ANKLE MONITOR FOR TWO YEARS LEAVING BRUISING BEHIND. I LOST EVERYTHING!
NIJEA RICH
