Man Impersonating U.S. Marshal Faces Time In Prison: Officials

GLEN BURNIE, MD — Renul Barnet Forbes, 32, of Glen Burnie faces up to eight years in prison after a federal grand jury indicted him on federal charges of false personation of a federal officer and possession of a fraudulently made government seal.

Forbes, who also goes by the names Michael Renul, Breion Jones and Bree Jones, attempted to evade being identified and arrested by an Anne Arundel County police officer who detained Forbes Sept. 26, 2020, in a Glen Burnie Walmart.

The officer was working off-duty as a security officer at the Walmart when he spied Forbes walking around the store with a holstered pistol. The gun turned out to be a realistic looking air-soft pistol that resembled a Glock. Charging documents revealed that Forbes had borrowed the handgun from a friend, routinely dressed in law enforcement clothing and had befriended police officers and others who believed him to be a federal officer.

If convicted, Forbes faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for impersonating an officer and a maximum of five years in federal prison for presenting a fraudulent government seal. A federal district court judge will determine sentencing after taking into account the U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.