A woman from Micco was arrested in Fellsmere after telling a deputy she was an active police officer during a traffic stop.
On Wednesday, at approximately 1:00 a.m., an Indian River County Sheriff’s deputy observed a vehicle driving westbound on CR-512 (Sebastian Blvd) toward Fellsmere.
“I observed the vehicle to have completely inoperable rear lighting. In addition, I noticed a flashlight affixed to the rear trunk as a make-shift registration light,” the deputy said.
The deputy conducted a traffic stop and encountered two occupants, a 37-year-old man from Fellsmere, and 55-year-old Joyceann Luciano from Micco.
“Luciano opened her wallet and flashed an identification card inside her wallet. I observed the card to read ‘Arlington Police Department’ on the top. Luciano looked up at me and made eye contact to confirm that I saw the card,” the deputy said in the affidavit.
Luciano immediately told the deputy that she was a retired police officer from Massachusetts and kept saying, “they don’t know,” as if to convince law enforcement.
“I asked several times regarding whether Luciano was a police officer and she continued to state that she was,” the deputy said.
A K-9 was used to sniff the exterior of the vehicle, which gave a positive indication of contraband. A probable cause search was conducted and the deputy located a cigarette pack containing a crack cocaine stem with burnt residue and a copper Chore Boy.
A female deputy conducted a search on Luciano and located another crack cocaine stem with a burnt residue inside her bra.
Luciano then told the deputy she was a “police officer for 13 years.” However, the deputy informed her that the ID in her wallet was not that of a retired police officer, but she responded, “yes, I was.”
During questioning, Luciano admitted to smoking crack cocaine. She then recanted her statement and admitted she was not a police officer.
“You’re right, I’m wrong,” she told the deputy several times.
Luciano was arrested and transported to the Indian River County Jail, where she is currently being held without bond.
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