LONGMONT, Colorado- — A man who claimed to be a Longmont police officer in an effort to persuade clerks at a local adult novelty store to give him DVDs in July was suffering from delusions, his lawyer told a Boulder District judge on Friday.
Andrew Libby, 34, pleaded guilty to felony impersonation of a peace officer during the morning hearing. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a second count and a felony possession of a weapon by a previous offender charge.
Public defender Kristi Sanders said her client was succumbing to mounting mental health problems when he visited the Mile High Emporium, posed as a police officer and asked the clerks to give him pornographic DVDs.
He told the clerks he was with the department’s “age verification unit,” showed them a badge and said he had to confirm the age of performers in the DVDs. There is no such unit at the Longmont Police Department.
“Mr. Libby was suffering from delusions and he was very psychotic and he was very delusional at the time,” Sanders said.
She said Libby believed he saw a 15-year-old girl he knew featured in a pornographic video and suspected that children were being featured in DVDs sold at the adult novelty store. While suffering from mental illness, he felt obligated to try to stop it, she said.
After his arrest, Sanders said Libby told police he needed to talk to the FBI.
Store employees notified police about his visits after his third attempt to obtain the DVDs. They provided surveillance video images of him, which police publicized. Tipsters identified Libby and police went to his home and arrested in August.
“Mr. Libby was also telling the police officers at the time he needed protection because he had infiltrated this process and his life was in danger,” Sanders said.
Prosecutor Karen Peters said the case was worrisome at first blush because of the accusation of police impersonation and interest in underage performers in pornography.
“As the case went on we realized it was really a mental illness case,” Peters said.
Libby appeared in court Friday accompanied by his girlfriend and a relative. He spoke softly when the judge asked him for his plea and declined comment after the hearing.
Berkenkotter sentenced Libby to two years of probation and required that he follow all of his mental health treatment protocols. Libby is also not allowed to have weapons and may not go to the Mile High Emporium under the conditions of his probation.
