LORI PILGER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 6:00 pm
A 31-year-old security guard cited for having a gun is being described as a “person of interest” to deputies looking into who stopped a 17-year-old driving north of Lincoln last Friday night.
On Wednesday, Lincoln police cited Jamie L. Yott, 2145 B St., for possessing a Glock semi-automatic pistol within city limits, Chief Tom Casady said.
A city ordinance passed nearly three years ago makes it illegal for him to do so because he was convicted in 1996 in Gage County of carrying a concealed weapon, Casady said.
Casady said an officer received information that Yott, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 150 pounds, carried a gun as part of his work as a self-employed security guard.
The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office is looking at Yott in part because he drives a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria with a gold badge emblem with Nebraska’s Rangers printed on the side door. Casady said it looks similar to a police cruiser and has a blue-and-white light bar on top.
Sheriff Terry Wagner described Yott as a “person of interest” in the investigation that started after a 17-year-old Ceresco girl was stopped last Friday night with her boyfriend north of Davey.
Yott has not been arrested or charged in connection with the incident and disputes any involvement.
He told the Journal Star Thursday he was working at the Devaney Center Friday night until 10:30.
As for the car, he said the white Crown Victoria is his company car and the emblem on the side refers to his business.
“I am completely innocent of the sheriff’s possible charge,” Yott said.
He said he thought it was probably a case of mistaken identity.
In the incident last week, a man in plain clothes, who didn’t show a badge or identify himself as an officer, walked over and asked her if she knew why she was being stopped. He told her she was speeding and to slow down, then left in his vehicle.
Deputies don’t typically make traffic stops out of uniform and, if they would happen to, they would identify themselves as officers. Nebraska State Patrol troopers are required to wear their uniforms.
The girl described the man as white, tall, thin and in his mid-20s or early 30s, with short, shaggy hair, dressed in jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. He had a gun in a holster on his belt.
Wagner said the case remains under investigation.
“We’re still working on this very diligently to determine whether it’s a legitimate officer from some other jurisdiction or someone else,” he said.
Wagner said the sheriff’s department hasn’t had any other reports of people being stopped in the county by unidentified officers or someone who appeared to be an officer.
“But we have had tips … on matching vehicles that we’re checking into,” Wagner said.
In the meantime, Wagner said drivers in rural parts of the county who aren’t sure if the vehicle stopping them is a law enforcement officer can call 911 to find out. Dispatchers in Lancaster County know if an officer is stopping someone and where.
Otherwise, he said, they can drive to a place that is well-lit or to the nearest town without evading the officer.
“Turning flashers on and driving a slow speed can alleviate that concern,” Wagner said.
Reach Lori Pilger at 473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com.