Charge: Man pretends to be deputy

Published 10:16 am Tuesday, March 20, 2012

An 18-year-old Northwood, Iowa, man is facing felony charges after he reportedly chased two teenage girls off a road into a field, threatened them and then ordered them to the ground — all while allegedly pretending to be a deputy.

According to Blue Earth County District Court documents, Dylan James Kroupa has been charged with two counts of felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of felony false imprisonment and one count of impersonating an officer, a misdemeanor.

Kroupa has reportedly had previous instances where he attempted to impersonate an officer in Freeborn County.

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According to court records, the two girls had been riding an ATV along state Highway 22 south of Mankato when Kroupa, in a black GMC Denali, pulled into a field approach in front of them.

The girls said they did not recognize the SUV and drove the ATV around it, but the man continued to follow them along the highway.

Not knowing what was going on, the girls drove into a field after which Kroupa allegedly began to chase them, reaching speeds as high as 60 mph.

When the girls reached a grove of trees and were forced to stop, they got off the ATV and began to run into the woods.

At that point, Kroupa allegedly got out of the vehicle and started yelling at them. He reportedly told them he had a gun and ordered them to the ground, documents continue.

The girls were “upset, crying and shaking,” according to court records.

Kroupa then allegedly proceeded to tell them “he wasn’t here to get them into trouble, he just wanted to tell them they had a brake light out.” He reportedly told the girls his name was Deputy Hutchens.

Court records stated the girls at first were unsure if Kroupa was a deputy but that after he told them he was a deputy and that he had a weapon and a walkie-talkie, they believed him to be one.

When one of the girls told the other girl to call her mom and tell her what was going on, Kroupa drove off. The mother of one of the girls called authorities to report the incident.

Court records state a Blue Earth County deputy talked with Kroupa over the phone about the incident, during which time he denied any involvement.

He is scheduled to appear in court on the charges March 29.

Second-degree assault carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $14,000 fine.

False imprisonment carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine, and impersonating an officer carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.