A man who was recently arrested for impersonating a U.S. Marshal and found carrying a fake badge, gun and zip ties is dead after he was shot by San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s deputies while holding a pellet gun, officials said.
Just before midnight on Tuesday, a woman in San Luis Obispo County called 911 because a man she knew was near her home. The woman said this man had a history of violent behavior and had access to weapons. The man was Andrew Biscay of Chowchilla, authorities announced in a news release.
Biscay, 40, had recently been arrested by sheriff’s deputies in Madera County on several felony and misdemeanor charges. In a news release, the department said he fought deputies who responded to a family disturbance call on June 20 and discovered he had warrants and tried to take him into custody.
After his arrest, Madera County sheriff’s deputies found several unusual items in his vehicle, including a jacket with the words “U.S. Marshal Deputy” in crude lettering on the back and several insignias attached to the clothing. Biscay also had a self-made baton, self-manufactured firearm, ammunition, zip ties and an emergency light for his vehicle, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Items confiscated after the arrest of Andrew Biscay last month.
(Madera County Sheriff’s Office)
Madera County asked residents to come forward if they ever encountered Biscay while he was impersonating a police officer.
But then deputies in San Luis Obispo County encountered him on Tuesday.
According to a news release, sheriff’s deputies arrived just after midnight and spoke to the woman who reported seeing a man she knew with a violent past near her home. More deputies arrived in the area and found Biscay in his vehicle. Officials say Biscay got out of his vehicle, took a shooting stance and aimed a handgun at the deputies, who opened fire after he walked toward them and refused to drop the gun.
After he was shot, deputies found a Beretta PX4 Storm semi-automatic pellet gun, which is a replica of a .40 caliber handgun, near his body, according to authorities.
The Sheriff’s Office released an image from a deputy’s cruiser dashcam that shows Biscay standing next to his vehicle and pointing a weapon.
The shooting comes amid heightened fears across California that people may be disguising themselves as federal law enforcement and interacting with the public while legitimate operations are underway elsewhere.
On June 24, Huntington Park police arrested Fernando Diaz, 23, on a bench warrant then discovered items inside his vehicle that led them to believe he may have been impersonating a U.S. Border Patrol agent.
His Dodge Durango was modified with red-and-blue visor lights, and inside the vehicle were more than a dozen U.S. Homeland Security notices from 2022 to “detain, remove or present alien,” according to city officials. Officers also found multiple phones, mounted radios similar to what law enforcement uses and a gun, officials said.
Diaz was taken into custody on an outstanding bench warrant related to a DUI case and, but he was released on $5,000 bail.
Times staff writer Ruben Vives contributed to this report.