HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A church safety director is under arrest after being accused of posing as an ICE agent to extort a woman for money.
Donald Doolittle, 58, is charged with impersonating a public servant. He’s listed as safety director on the Gateway Community Church of Webster’s website and noted he’s worked at the church for 10 years in an affidavit filed with the court.
Eyewitness News has learned the victim of the alleged extortion plot is a massage therapist operating out of a northwest Houston office building.
Police say Doolittle booked and received a massage Thursday, but that problems arose when he went to pay.
Officers say Doolittle wanted to pay with a credit card, but that the victim told him she only accepts cash or Zelle payments.
At that point, police say Doolittle pulled out an ID card labelled ‘ICE,’ identified himself as an ICE agent and said he needed to see the victim’s ID.
Police say she complied and showed him her temporary visa, but that he then demanded money.
“He demanded she Zelle him $500 or he would take her away and she would never see her family or children again,” a magistrate said during Doolittle’s probable cause hearing Saturday.
Zelle is a digital payment network that allows people to send and receive money between bank accounts.
After the victim sent Doolittle the money, police say he texted her that she wouldn’t hear from any other ICE agents because he had marked her case for non-prosecution. He also allegedly asked her to delete the text messages.
Police say the victim told her story to officers whom she happened to run into the next day at a luncheon.
When interviewed by investigators, police say Doolittle denied getting a massage or going to the victim’s business, but police say surveillance video proved otherwise.
Gateway Community Church didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Doolittle’s bond is set at $10,000.
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