Brothers arrested again for impersonating cops

By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

For the second time in six years, a pair of brothers are facing charges they impersonated police officers after they were arrested early Sunday in a Glenwood Avenue bar.

Milton Willis, 57, and his brother Quin, 55, are both expected to be arraigned in municipal court today on charges of impersonating a peace officer or private police officer and illegal possession of a firearm in liquor permit premises. Additionally, Milton Willis faces a separate charge of assault.

The two were arrested about 3 a.m. Sunday at the Southern Tavern, 1508 Glenwood Ave., after police were called there to investigate a complaint that someone in the bar was beat up.

Reports said Quin Willis was arrested on charges of assault after it was determined he was attempting to act as a police officer when he used a chemical spray on several people in the bar. Quin Willis told police he had used the spray because the people refused his orders to leave.

Quin Willis told officers he was with the FBI. He gave them an identification which said he was a special police constable and he was also wearing a badge that said “chief,” reports said.

Milton Willis was dressed in the same way as his brother and he also had police equipment, such as handcuffs and a portable radio. He was also taken into custody.

Both men had loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic handguns, reports said.

In 2011, a federal grand jury indicted the Willis brothers, along with a third man, for impersonating federal law-enforcement officers. They were all convicted in 2012 after a jury trial in U.S. District Court’s Northern District.

The Willises were each sentenced to three years’ probation with the first four months of that probation served under house arrest.