December 30, 1999 08:04pm
Cop Charged With Robbing Prostitutes' Johns
Source: APBnews.com
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- A District of Columbia police officer was arrested Wednesday and charged with robbing prostitutes' customers at gunpoint, authorities said today.
Officer Warren Pindell, a nine-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, is charged with two counts of armed robbery, police said.
Pindell, 30, is accused of robbing men sitting in cars with prostitutes Dec. 13 on Farragut Street Northwest and three days ago on Seventh Street Northwest, police said. He stole $250 from one john and more than $100 from the other, according to Executive Assistant Chief Terrance W. Gainer.
He was in uniform both times but was off duty, police said.
Police shocked by arrest
Police became aware of the robberies when one of the victims reported that he had been with a prostitute when a police officer held him up, Gainer said. A second victim reported a similar holdup earlier this week.
Investigators found the prostitutes and were led to Pindell, Gainer said. Pindell turned himself in to investigators Wednesday at the Fourth District station, where he is assigned, police said.
"He disappointed us, to say the least," Gainer told APBnews.com today. "He dishonored the uniform, abused the oath and battered the badge. If there is any good news in all of this, it's that our officers made the case and made the arrest. This shows we're capable of cleaning up the trash in our own department."
May have been other robberies
Pindell, who was arraigned today in D.C. Superior Court, has been placed on administrative leave.
Gainer said he believes Pindell held up more than the two johns he is accused of robbing.
By Richard Zitrin, an APBnews.com national correspondent
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