Phone scammers impersonate Pennington County law enforcement demanding money

Pennington County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Lt. Chris Hislip

RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office warns of scam callers representing themselves as law enforcement.

In particular, Sargent Jason Mitzel from the Warrants Division. While Sargent Mitzel is an officer with the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office he does not work in the Warrants Division. The caller allegedly leaves a message asking the victim to return their call to resolve a court action.

The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office generally does not collect warrants or fines over the phone. Warrant fees must be settled in person.

“We see this as a consistent issue this isn’t something that has just spiked. What we advise is for the public to scrutinize any phone call that they are not expecting. So sometimes law enforcement does call to inform folks of minor warrants and things that they need to take care of. But if they receive a phone call like this, we advise if you’re skeptical, call us,” said Patrol Lieutenant Chris Hislip.

Anyone can confirm if they have an outstanding warrant on the Pennington County website.Sequence 0200 01 12 03still002

Callers asking for payment in the form of a gift certificate, gift card or to wire money should be a red flag.

“We are receiving reports where they are seeking information that law enforcement should already know. So that should raise a red flag. Never give any information given over the phone from an unsolicited phone call from somebody who’s…

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