Pittsburgh police say a man claimed to be a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer after breaking into a house in the city’s Beltzhoover neighborhood Saturday night.
In a criminal complaint, police said they found William Arthur Gregory, 35, of Pittsburgh unconscious and lying on the floor of the house in the 500 block of Climax Street when they responded to a report of a burglary in progress shortly after 9:30 p.m.
Police said they also found a boy with minor injuries to his right ankle and hand. His age was not disclosed.
According to the complaint, the boy told officers that Gregory broke in through the kitchen window and came upstairs shouting that he was an ICE agent and needed to see their paperwork.
Gregory pulled out a pocketknife and threatened to stab the boy as he began to steal his PlayStation console and controllers, the complaint states.
The two began to fight when Gregory ripped the boy’s phone out of his hand, and the boy eventually punched Gregory in the face, knocking him unconscious, according to the complaint.
As officers began to handcuff Gregory, he woke up and resisted arrest, the complaint states. Officers subdued him with a Taser.
A medic sedated Gregory before taking him to UPMC Mercy to be treated for any injuries. Police said Gregory was heavily intoxicated and high on drugs, and began to foam at the mouth while being walked to an ambulance.
Police said Gregory had multiple warrants for burglary and possession of a firearm.
Gregory is charged with felony counts of burglary, robbery and ethnic intimidation; misdemeanor counts of simple assault and impersonating a public servant; and a summary count of criminal mischief.
He was arraigned Sunday morning and denied bail as a threat to the community, according to court records. He was being held in the Allegheny County Jail.
Gregory is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 29.
