Lancaster man convicted for impersonating deputy now faces 18 months on firearms charges

“Dave’s World” came crashing down around him Wednesday after the Lancaster man was convicted in federal court for possessing firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition despite a prior conviction for felony offenses that were related to impersonating a law enforcement officer.

David S. Scofield, 58, who previously held a Federal Firearms License and operated a part-time, online-only firearms business from his home on Blue Valley Road called "Dave’s World," was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Columbus to 18 months in prison on charges of illegally possessing firearms.

He was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine and placed on three years of supervised release once he completes his sentence.

David Scofield impersonated law enforcement officers several times

Scofield's problems began back in 2013 when he was accused of impersonating a Morgan County sheriff's deputy during a Feb. 13 traffic stop in Fairfield County. He reportedly pleaded guilty to charges of falsification and obstructing police business.

Scofield had previously been an auxiliary deputy for Fairfield and Morgan counties but was no longer a deputy at the time of the Fairfield stop, authorities said. The Athens County Sheriff's office, where he was a reserve deputy, terminated Scofield from that post after his arrest in the 2013 incident.

In 2014, Scofield was impersonating a sheriff's deputy in Summit County and making traffic stops — until he had a traffic confrontation with a real Akron police detective in October of that year, prosecutors and court records indicate.

Real officers from Akron and Talmadge who responded to that incident found a fake badge, a SWAT shirt, two loaded pistols, a rifle, a shotgun, silencers and a bulletproof vest in Scofield's Ford Crown Victoria, which was made to look like a police vehicle and had red and blue lights and a police scanner in the trunk. He also had two loaded magazines in his pocket, authorities said.

Scofield was arrested for two counts of impersonating a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, failure to inform law enforcement and obstructing official business.

Police searched his home two days later and found fake badges and fake documents suggesting Scofield was a police officer. They also found about 40 firearms, some of them automatic weapons, and 15,000 rounds of ammunition, according to prosecutors and a story in The Lancaster Eagle Gazette.

Scofield eventually pleaded no contest in February 2015 to misdemeanor counts of impersonating a police officer, improperly handling a firearm and obstructing justice.

Akron Municipal Court Judge Kathryn Michael fined Scofield $1,000, told him to stay out of trouble for five years or face further penalties, ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation and ordered that Scofield's gun, a police hat, a 1-800-GRAB-DUI license plate, a spotlight installed on his car and other items suggesting he was a law enforcement officer be destroyed.

Criminal convictions get federal firearms licence revoked

Shortly before 1 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2016, Pickerington police officer Mercedes Gavins stopped Scofield for a lane violation and discovered he had two outstanding warrants in Akron. A second officer was requested and Scofield repeatedly refused to comply with officers’ commands to get out of the car when they were attempting to arrest him, even slapping a female officer's hand when she attempted to unlock his car door, according to court records.

After officers indicated they would drag him out of the car, Scofield stepped out and was arrested, court records state. A search of the vehicle, which Scofield unsuccessfully challenged as illegal, found an AR-15 automatic rifle with two magazines, a pistol, a knife in a compartment under the steering wheel, a police scanner, and various other magazines, ammunition and knives, court records state.

Scofield was indicted by a Fairfield County grand jury on felony counts of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle and unlawful possession of a dangerous ordinance, In 2018, he was found guilty and sentenced to five years of community control.

Meanwhile, Scofield held a Class One Federal Firearms License, which allows holders to sell rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF). He obtained the license in 2010 and it was renewed in 2016 for his business "Dave's World."

But because of his criminal convictions, his license was revoked by ATF. Scofield appealed the decision, but the U.S. District Court in Columbus ultimately ruled in ATF's favor in 2021.

As a convicted felon, Scofield was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. Fairfield County probation officers conducting a home visit in 2019 alerted ATF agents to firearms at Scofield's home.

In May 2019, ATF and law enforcement officials went to Scofield's residence with a search warrant and seized five firearms, three silencers, more than 6,300 rounds of ammunition, more than 2,000 bullets, nearly 39,000 primers, two canisters of pepper spray, an expandable baton and a stun gun, prosecutors said.

That led to the federal case against Scofield for improperly possessing firearms, his conviction and sentencing.

@Colebehr_report

Cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Lancaster man who impersonated officer sentenced on weapons charges