By Jun Medina
INQUIRER.net
SAN DIEGO, Philippines—A bogus US Marshal who "arrested" and "deported" a terrified pregnant Filipino woman has been sentenced to three years in federal prison.
Gregory Denny Jr., 38, a security guard of Hemet, was sentenced to jail on January 24 by United States District Judge Larry Alan Burns. He was given the maximum sentence for falsely representing himself as a federal officer and arresting and detaining Cherriebelle Hibbard, the 28-year-old wife of Denny’s distant cousin.
Denny’s wife, Karen, 52, on the other hand, was sentenced to five years probation and mental counseling for aiding and abetting in the crime.
Judge Burns also imposed a one-year term of supervised release and forbade Denny from being employed in any law enforcement, bail enforcement, or security-related positions.
Court records said that on January 15, 2010, Denny and his wife, Karen, went to the home of Craig Hibbard, a relative in Hemet.
Wearing a T-shirt that read "US Federal Agent" and armed with a phony badge, fake credentials and a toy pistol, Denny "arrested" and handcuffed Hibbard.
Denny said he claimed the terrified Filipina housewife, then three-month pregnant, was in the country illegally and he would be deporting her.
After putting the victim in handcuffs, the couple first went to the border patrol station in Murrieta, where officials said there was no warrant for her arrest and declined to take her into custody.
The Dennys then took Hibbard to their house, phoned Hibbard's husband, Craig, and told him he had to get his wife a plane ticket home to the Philippines or else they both would go to jail for violating immigration laws.
After determining that Craig had purchased a plane ticket for his wife, the Denny couple then took Mrs. Hibbard to Lindbergh Field airport in San Diego.
Denny was able to get past Transportation Security Administration checkpoints by claiming he was a marshal and showing his badge, according to court records.
He escorted Hibbard to a gate where she ended up boarding a plane and flying back to the Philippines.
The bizarre series of events led to Denny’s arrest and landed him in jail.
Court records showed it was not the first time Denny had portrayed himself as a federal officer.
Over the years, his fabrications were not limited to being a member of federal law enforcement.
In the past, court records said, he has said he was a gang officer with the Anaheim Police Department, and a Navy SEAL who had served in Iraq, Bosnia and Somalia. He also lied about his education and how long he had worked as a security guard who was authorized to carry a gun.
It was not clear what drove Denny to such fabrications.
His attorney, Robert Boyce, said posing as law enforcement made Denny feel "important and made him feel successful."
Boyce said the Hibbard incident was "almost a clownish attempt at impersonating an officer," and said he was surprised he got as far as he did.
Judge Burns said Denny was a "Walter Mitty-type of character," a person who fantasizes being a hero.
Denny was remorseful and apologized for what he has done.
Cherriebelle, the wrongly deported Filipina, is still in the Philippines where she has given birth to a healthy baby boy.
Her husband Craig said he can't wait to be reunited with his wife and baby, and is saving money to bring his family back with him.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
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