S.C. man charged after impersonating ICE officer in viral video
SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A man who was charged in connection with a confrontation involving a driver last week now faces an additional charge, Sullivan’s Island police say.
Sean-Michael Emmrich Johnson, 33, now faces two additional counts of kidnapping in the incident, Police Chief Glenn Meadows said.
Johnson was charged on Friday with one count of felony kidnapping and misdemeanor charges of impersonating a law enforcement officer, larceny and assault and battery in the third degree.
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In a 911 call related to the incident, a caller, whom police identified as Johnson, told dispatchers about a “Mexican” who “doesn’t have a driver’s license” and asked for police to respond to the 2500 block of Ion Avenue.
At one point, the dispatcher asks if he was driving or just walking around.
“What’s going on that you know he doesn’t have a driver’s license?” the dispatcher asks.
“He’s driving. He doesn’t have a driver’s license,” the caller says. “Yeah, he’s uh, he’s illegal.”
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A video shared on social media that was recorded from inside the truck showed Johnson arguing with the driver of a pickup truck.
In the video, Johnson asks the driver, whose name police say they are not releasing, if he is from Mexico and then claims he is going back.
The video also showed Johnson taking the keys out of the truck’s ignition and dangling them in front of the driver, telling him he cannot drive and does not have a license.
Police said they did not learn about the video until later.
Meadows confirmed on Friday that they filed no charges against the driver or the other victims in the truck.
Jail records state Johnson, who turned himself in on Friday night, was released from the Al Cannon Detention Center Saturday afternoon after posting a $31,587 bond.
Meadows said Johnson was arrested at 2:32 p.m. on Monday after turning himself in on the new charges.
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After a bond hearing on Monday evening, Johnson was given a $200,000 surety bond split between the two additional felony kidnapping charges.
A representative of the Sullivan’s Island Police Department asked the judge to restrict him from traveling onto Sullivan’s Island as part of the bond conditions.
The judge ordered standard bond restrictions forbidding Johnson to the victims or travel within five blocks of their workplaces, homes or churches.
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