HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Tuesday was the initial court appearance for a man who apparently wanted to play dress up -- or was it something much worse?
Wahaj Usama, 21, is facing burglary charges for allegedly breaking into a Tomball police officer's patrol car.
"The suspect made forced entry into the vehicle and was in the process of stealing the patrol car," Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said.
Deputy constables who responded to the call on Monday said that, when they arrived at the scene in Tomball, they noticed something more. Herman said the suspect was dressed like a police officer.
"He had already started rummaging through the patrol car and had found a uniform in the back seat, had already put that on and was in the process of trying to start the vehicle," Herman said.
Deputies promptly arrested Usama on the misdemeanor charge, but a joint investigation with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies has begun, to determine whether he had something more in mind than simply breaking into a patrol car.
"I can tell you that it's very, very suspicious to us in law enforcement that an individual will not only break into a marked patrol car but to put a uniform on, and try to drive it away from the location," Herman said.
At last check, Usama was being held in the Harris County Jail on a $2,000 bond. He has been arrested several times in the past few years for drug possession.