A woman who repeatedly claimed to be a law enforcement officer and said she was working on cold-case files was arrested for second degree criminal impersonation, obstruction of governmental operations and resisting arrest.
Jennifer Jo Bland, 49, Rogers, was arrested by Pea Ridge police on April 18 at the Pea Ridge police station on a warrant obtained as a result of several previous incidents in which Bland made her claims.
As a result of the incidents, at least three known occurrences during 2015 and early 2016, police obtained a warrant for Bland's arrest.
Bland went to the Pea Ridge police station April 18 to reportedly "FOI information about the missing police officer ... and the missing girl," according to the police report. At that time, once police confronted her, Bland fought with officers who attempted to arrest her, according to reports of the arrest. She denied existence of the warrant, which officers showed to her. She told them she would not comply and told police they were "all under investigation," according to the report.
Bland, when asking about cold-case files, was referring to the disappearance of former police officer Cerilla Doyle and teenager April Andrews.
Doyle was reported missing Oct. 27, 2008. She had worked for the Pea Ridge Police Department for nearly 13 years before her retirement Aug. 8, 2008.
April Andrews disappeared from Pea Ridge Nov. 18, 2006, when she was 15 years old.
On Sunday, March 27, at a business in Pea Ridge, Bland told an off-duty Pea Ridge police officer that she was working cold cases for the Benton County Sheriff's Office and offered to work with him on cases. According to the police report, Bland has a history of showing up at Pea Ridge Police Department and Benton County Sheriff's Office asking about missing persons' cases.
Other Pea Ridge police officers had encounters with Bland, including at the Pea Ridge police station and on traffic stops, with her claiming to be law enforcement.
"I work for the Sheriff's Office," Bland was reported to have told one officer, according to the report. Bland also said the Pea Ridge Police Department is being "investigated by her and others" in reference to Doyle's disappearance.
During the investigation, Pea Ridge police learned that Bland was not, and had never been, employed by the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
She was released from the Benton County Jail Thursday, April 21, on a $1,500 bond.
General News on 04/27/2016