Man charged with burglary and impersonating a firefighter. Former volunteer has a history of arrests and incidents in VA, MD & DC.

Marcus Paxton

(Updated at 10:20 PM)

At 3:00 AM on July 19, a captain at Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department Station 418 (Jefferson) found an intruder at the firehouse. The 25-year-old man told the captain he was a volunteer firefighter at another station. The captain didn’t buy that explanation.

The man was wearing a fire department issued shirt and hat police say had been stolen from Station 418. According to an email sent to firefighters from a detective working the case, more property belonging to firefighters was found in the man’s car.

Since that night, the Fairfax County Police Department has been investigating Marcus Paxton of Greenbelt, MD. According to a police department spokesman Paxton has now been charged with burglary, petty theft and impersonating a firefighter in connection with the incident at Station 418.

Marcus Paxton is a former volunteer firefighter in Prince George’s County, Maryland, who since 2006, has been involved in a series of unusual incidents involving fire departments in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

According to people who know Marcus Paxton, a little more than a year ago, Paxton began telling friends he had been hired as a career firefighter in Fairfax County. The email from the detective working the case indicates Paxton applied, but was not accepted as a Fairfax County firefighter. According to the message from Detective Mike Nickolas, Paxton “was disqualified after it was determined he had been arrested for stealing a DC Fire Department vehicle”.

DC Fire & EMS Department officials confirm Paxton had been hanging around city firehouses when a chief’s car was taken from the quarters of Engine 2. DC Fire & EMS was unable to provide a date for the incident or specifics as to how it was handled.

DC sources familiar with Paxton tell STATter 911 he was riding with EMS supervisors and in ambulances and medic units during 2006 and earlier. Those sources indicate Paxton had become such a familiar face many people assumed he was a civilian EMS worker.

Since he was a teenager Marcus Paxton had been associated with the Greenbelt Volunteer Fire Department in Prince George’s County. According to the station’s website, by 2006 he had been promoted to the rank of sergeant.

Paxton was initially suspended and then barred from being a volunteer firefighter in the county following his arrest for calling in a false fire alarm. According to Maryland court records, the incident occurred on November 28, 2006. Sources familiar with the case tell STATter 911 investigators determined Paxton was driving a Greenbelt VFD utility vehicle when he used a cell phone to report a building fire in the Greenbelt area. Paxton was caught after he left the phone connected to 911 as he responded to the call. Maryland court records indicate Paxton entered a guilty plea.

Copy of Marcus Paxton’s PGFD ID attached to a February 20, 2007 email from Acting Lt. Col. Robert McCoy

Despite being barred from emergency operations in Prince George’s County, Marcus Paxton was still able to secure a ride-along with a county paramedic unit. This led to another arrest. Court records show Paxton was charged with impersonating a member of an emergency squad after the February 17, 2007 incident involving Medic 25 in Clinton.

The ride-along and arrest prompted this email sent to members of the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department by Robert McCoy, who was then deputy chief of operations:

A Mr. Marcus Paxton showed up at Station 25 this weekend for a ride-along on Medic 25. Mr. Paxton is no longer a member of the Fire/EMS Department and should not be on any property for any reason. He may have shown up at other stations recently and may have used a different name (Marcus Johnson). I have included a picture of Mr. Paxton so there is no confusion and personnel should be aware when allowing personnel to ride at their stations. If there are any questions, please let me know.

According to court records that case was put on the inactive docket.

Sources familiar with the July case in Fairfax County tell STATter 911 the investigation continues. The email sent by Detective Nickolas has brought a number of leads from fire and EMS personnel.

Pictures of Marcus Paxton attached to the February 20, 2007 email