PANAMA CITY — An Alabama woman has pleaded no contest to impersonating a federal officer, according to court records.
Morcia Dawn Lowery, 40, had walked the grounds of Smuggler’s Cove RV Park in Parker wearing a shirt with police insignia since August. She allegedly told neighbors she was a U.S. marshal and threatened to lock up unruly juveniles and place witnesses in “protective custody” until her arrest in October, according to Parker Police arrest reports.
Lowery pleaded no contest to charges Feb. 18 in the U.S. District Court of Northern Florida for impersonating a federal officer. She was detained as she awaits her sentencing date in May.
Lowery had portrayed herself as a “take no guff” law officer during her days at Smuggler’s Cove, according to authorities.
According to management of Smuggler’s Cove, Lowery told residents she ended up in Bay County after a drug bust gone horribly wrong. Her 9-year-old son had been shot in the head during a shootout, she had said.
In turn, Lowery got revenge on his killer, also shooting him in the head. However, she requested to be reassigned following the traumatic experience, she told residents. She had been working the child protection beat since, and she told residents she had closed about 80 cases of child exploitation.
Once residing in the RV park, Lowery began to grow bolder, telling one man she would place him in “protective custody” for an outstanding warrant in Tennessee, police reported. On other occasions, she threatened unruly juveniles in the neighborhood with juvenile detention if they didn’t walk the straight and narrow, according to police reports.
After several months of Lowery blaming her late rent on delinquent paychecks from the U.S. Marshals Service and increasingly suspicious tales, management of Smuggler’s Cove called authorities.
Lowery owed about $1,500 in back rent at the time of her arrest.