Virginia Beach, Va. - A man charged with pretending to be a state trooper back in November made a preliminary court appearance on Thursday.
In early November, Anthony Voliva was arrested for handcuffing a woman who passed out and trying to drag her to his car equipped with red and blue police lights, according to Virginia Beach court documents.
Those documents state that it's not the first time Voliva pretended to be a police officer. A year ago, he was charged with the same exact crime.
In November, police got a call that a woman was passed out in the bathroom of Fresh Eats and Drink Restaurant in Strawbridge Marketplace.
Court documents say detectives arrived to find the woman already handcuffed from behind.Those documents state that Voliva dragged the woman from the bathroom to the lobby, where his pretend police car waited outside.
The owner of the restaurant appeared in court as a witness and said that Voliva came to the restaurant and stated that he was an off-duty state trooper.
Not only that, but police say Voliva was dressed the part.
Police say he was carrying a BB gun in a holster, made to look like a glock handgun. Next to the gun, a Virginia Beach-style badge, plus a police-style radio and mic.
When the real police arrived, Voliva reportedly told the restaurant owner, "I'm probably going to be in trouble. I'm off-duty. I'm not supposed to be doing this, so don't say anything."
Court documents say Voliva has a history of this -- he was already on probation for the same crime in Prince William County. According to court documents filed in Virginia Beach, the defendant said the last time he was charged with this crime in the resort city it was expunged.
His original preliminary hearing on December 18th was continued.
Related:
Man accused of impersonating police officer, handcuffing woman at Virginia Beach restaurant
