Quietly and politely Bill A. Jakob, 36, of Washington responded to

questions asked of him by Judge Rodney W. Sipppel on Monday. During the

change of plea hearing held in U.S. Eastern District Court, Jakob often

referred to the judge as “sir” or “your honor.” Quite a change in

demeanor from the aggressive federal poser who held people at gunpoint

and screamed in their faces last spring in Gerald.

During an affiliation with the Gerald Police Department that began sometime in late winter and ended May 9, Jakob was feared and hated by many Gerald residents.

He participated in an undetermined number of illegal raids and arrests  that resulted in the firing of the Gerald Chief of Police Ryan McCrary, his second in command Scott Ramsey and patrolman Shannon Kestermont. Those actions also have resulted in two lawsuits being filed against the city of Gerald or elected officials there.

U.S. Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway said, “Citizens depend upon law enforcement officers who are sworn to protect them. During several arrests, Jakob was armed and actually placed people in handcuffs.” 

“Mr. Jakob is now facing lengthy prison time, which sends the message that people who impersonate officers and put our citizens at risk will be prosecuted and held accountable for their actions,” she added.

Jakob pled guilty to 18 counts involving his false impersonation of three different federal officers. According to Hanaway, on separate occasions during April 2008, Jakob represented himself as either an officer and employee of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, an agent of the United States Department of Justice Multi Jurisdictional Narcotics Task Force or as a United States Marshal, and participated in multiple arrests and residential searches in the Gerald area. The residential searches in the city occurred on North Bernhardt, the 600 block of South Main Street, 900 block of S. Old Potosi Road, 400 block of East Canaan Road,  300 block of West Sixth Street and on Pear Tree.

One search was conducted outside the city limits in the 7400 block of Antioch Road, Franklin County.

Jakob also entered guilty pleas to four counts involving a sophisticated scheme while working for Total Lock and Security as a salesman.

These involved faking orders from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Richard Zott, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), stated “DCIS will continue to aggressively pursue those who defraud the Department of Defense. At a time the US is engaged in combat operations, it is reprehensible that individuals would place personal gain above the needs of our men and women in uniform. DCIS thanks the U.S. Attorney’s office and its law enforcement partners for their continued support of our mission to protect America’s War fighters.”

Special agents with the Federal Bureau of investigation, along with investigators from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri Highway Patrol arrived in Gerald on May 9 to begin investigations. Jakob was charged with one count of providing false statements to federal investigators stemming from that interview.

Although Jakob has now pled guilty, the investigation is continuing.

“The FBI is pleased with today’s announcement. The crimes perpetrated by Mr. Jakob and other violations of civil rights and misconduct by law enforcement officials will not be tolerated and will be vigorously investigated by the FBI,” added John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, FBI-St. Louis.

Hanaway commended the work on the case by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol; and Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

After the court proceedings, I shared the elevator with Jakob and his wife, Amanda. Attempts to find out why Jakob chose Gerald as the scene of his latest scam were unsuccessful. Each question was met with “No comment,” from Jakob. When asked when his relationship with Ryan McCrary began, Jakob said, “Ma’am, I don’t mean to be rude to you, but I am not going to give you any information.

“You had no problem being rude to me the last time we spoke. What’s changed?” I asked him.

“I never meant to be rude to you,” he replied.

The only other time I met Jakob was during his time with the Gerald Police during one of their illegal raids in Gerald. I was standing in the middle of the street taking pictures, when Jakob came and stood in front of me and demanded that I stop.

He refused to identify himself except as Sgt. Bill and also refused to tell me what agency he was with or show his credentials.