Arrested a woman, took her to jail but's he's no cop; also accused of playing firefighter

LEESBURG, Fla. (TND) — “In the video, Christopher was dressed in a manner consistent with a law enforcement officer, to include body armor, handcuffs, and other police equipment,” the real authorities reported.

Agents with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida were reviewing video apparently shot by Christopher Levins himself. Their Incident Report said it was “legally obtained from” a search warrant, on Oct. 17, 2023.

They did not say when this incident happened.

“Christopher is shown on the video approaching a white female,” their report continued, “who he identifies with her identification card as [name], and advises her of a warrant for her arrest.

“He then secures her hands with handcuffs, places her into the front seat of his vehicle, and transports her to the Lake County Jail.

“Upon arriving to the jail, the video shows Christopher walking the handcuffed [suspect] into the jail.

“While walking, Christopher was stopped by a deputy that asks Christopher if the vehicle he just exited was his patrol car.

“Christopher advised he was a ‘bondsman’ and his vehicle was his ‘personal’ vehicle.

“Christopher then walks [the suspect] into the public entrance of the jail as a voluntary turn-in for her outstanding arrest warrant.

“Christopher is a convicted felon, has been to prison, and is not a law enforcement officer.”

Authorities only said the suspect “was booked at the Lake County Jail for a failure to appear warrant on July 5, 2018.”

The woman is now 27 years old and online records don’t show her being booked into the Lake County Jail at any time.

She was charged with battery in March 2018 and seven months later, in October, prosecutors decided not to pursue the charge.

But in the meantime, in August, she was charged with violation of a no-contact order. That case has not been closed, even though there have been no updates to the docket since 2018.

Two weeks after agents reviewed the video, they “traveled to New York to meet with [the suspect] and conduct an in-person audio-recorded interview.

“[The suspect] reviewed the video, identified herself, identified Christopher, and recalled the incident.

“[The suspect] advised that during the incident in question, Christopher first approached her at her ex-boyfriend’s residence in Leesburg, Fla.”

Then, she told authorities, “She was under the impression Christopher was a law enforcement officer.

“[The suspect] advised that had she known he was not a law enforcement officer, she would not have allowed him to secure her in handcuffs or take her to jail.”

Levins was charged with kidnapping, but not arrested until April 4 of this year.

Online records show he spent five days in jail until his release in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Levins' criminal history shows he was a felon or delinquent in possession of a concealed weapon or ammunition in Alachua County in late 2015, when he was 18. He wasn’t sentenced until May 2017.

In 2016 in St. John’s County, he was charged with possession of counterfeit ID, possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon, and impersonating a law enforcement officer. He was sentenced for those crimes the following week, and released from state custody in 2018.

However, an affidavit from Christmas Eve 2016 in Polk County said he portrayed himself as “a fireman assigned to the Bomb and Arson Squad with the Orlando Fire Department,” and as a K9 trainer.

It went on to say he wore “a white Polo-style uniform shirt with a reported insignia patch of Orlando Fire Rescue attached. Levins’ name was embroidered on the chest of the shirt."

Then, it said he told three people “he had to go to work [and] reportedly joked with the witness about his shirt having blood on it before the night was over.”

Levins, who is now 26, was apparently booked for impersonating a fire official in Polk County on July 6, 2017, while serving time in state prison.