Killeen man accused of impersonating officer due in court

Killeen Daily Herald
By Clay Thorp | Special to the Telegram
January 30, 2023

A Killeen man could face jail time after he was accused of pretending to be a police officer in the Temple area.

Joshua Chance Adkins, 32, was indicted on a charge of impersonating a public servant by a Bell County grand jury.

Adkins was one of three former Little River-Academy firefighters charged with impersonating a public servant in 2019. Two others — James E. Mercer and John Ernest Burroughs — also were charged.

Mercer, a former captain with the volunteer firefighting agency, pleaded guilty to 27th District Court Judge John Gauntt in July. John Ernest Burroughs, 44, former assistant fire chief for the department, was sentenced Jan. 7, 2021, to two years of deferred adjudication.

According to an arrest affidavit, all three men were shown in audio and video recordings as they turned on their vehicle’s windshield-mounted emergency red and blue lights when they boxed in by a woman’s car on June 5, 2019, near Spur 93 and FM 93.

None of the men are Bell County law enforcement officers and were not authorized to use emergency lights, the affidavit said. The men reportedly acted as bond apprehension agents, not firefighters.

Adkins allegedly got out of the vehicle with a handgun in his hand but holstered it as he walked toward the woman’s car. Burroughs and Mercer walked up from behind the vehicle, the affidavit said.

The woman also was approached by Mercer and Burroughs on May 1 and they told her they were law enforcement working with Bell County to serve her husband with a citation, the affidavit said.

The woman asked them for identification to prove their law enforcement affiliation, and the affidavit said they never provided any proof.

A video of the interaction between the woman, Burroughs and Mercer was provided to investigators.

At the time of the offense, Burroughs, who does not hold a license as a bondsman or bounty hunter, was working for Anderson & White bail bonds, Anthony Anderson, one of the owners of the company, previously told the Telegram.

Adkins is set to appear at 9 a.m. today for a jury trial hearing in the 27th District Court. Gauntt will preside.

If convicted of a third-degree felony, Adkins faces a sentence of two to 10 years in state jail and a maximum $10,000 fine.