Man who impersonated cops to plead guilty to robberies

David Anthony Battle, a serial impersonator of police officers and firefighters, has agreed to plead guilty to federal robbery charges after he held up pharmacies in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, court records show.

Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday in U.S. District Court in Riverside.

Battle, 49, of Moreno Valley, faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of six charges of interference of commerce by robbery, also known as the Hobbs Act. The plea deal does not specify a recommended sentence, but prosecutors have agreed to seek a reduced term. Two robbery counts in the indictment were dropped as part of the agreement.

Battle stole a total of about $5,400 from six pharmacies, the indictment says: two Walgreens in Moreno Valley, two Rite Aids in Moreno Valley and one in Colton and a CVS in San Bernardino.

Battle was arrested Aug. 10 as he attempted to enter the Walgreens at 16020 Perris Blvd. while carrying a gun, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said at the time. He was driving a white Dodge Challenger and wearing the same clothing seen at previous robbery attempts, including two others on Perris Boulevard.

In October 2015, San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies working security at the wildfire base camp at the Lake Fire in Big Bear, saw a white Crown Victoria — like the Challenger, a staple of police fleets — driving into closed areas. Battle, wearing a fire department uniform, was driving, officials said at the time.

Deputies learned the car was reported stolen from the city of San Bernardino two weeks earlier. Inside, they found a stolen handgun, fire agency uniforms and a radio stolen from the base camp. Deputies determined that the car’s license plates had been stolen.

Battle pleaded no contest to charges and was sentenced to five years in prison, Superior Court records show.

In 2013, seven days after being released from jail after being convicted of stealing a San Bernardino police car, Battle was arrested on suspicion of stealing another of the department’s cars. He pleaded guilty in that case. He was sentenced to probation.

In October 1998, he was convicted and sentenced to seven years and eight months in state prison for impersonating a peace officer, petty theft, stealing a police car, burglary and receiving stolen property, according to court records.