Man Accused Of Impersonating Federal Agent At Edmond North

<span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12pt">An Edmond man is accused of impersonating a CIA agent at Edmond North High School.</span></span>

Friday, October 9th 2015, 10:45 pm

By: News 9


An Edmond man is accused of impersonating a CIA agent at Edmond North High School.

School officials say he told them he was ready to take action to offer special protection for students.

Richard Carsins, 46, could not prove to Edmond North administrators that he was in fact a federal agent.

That's when they called police.

10/9/15 Related Story: Edmond Man Faces Charges For Posing As CIA Agent

“It’s a little bit unusual. We really don’t know his motivation at this point. We don’t know why he would do this,” said U.S. Attorney for Oklahoma’s Western District, Sanford Coats.

According to federal court documents, Carsins specifically told Edmond North administrators he was a "CIA employee working for DHS and was assigned to patrol the campus."

“And the assistant principal and others thought that was a little bit odd and did exactly what they were supposed to do,” said Coats.  

Coats said they take claims like this seriously especially after recent threats at schools across the metro.

“I think everyone has a heightened sense of security right now,” said Coats.

Coats said the school's resource officer contacted the FBI and the joint terrorism task force. They found Carsins at his home where they say he admitted to the incident and confessed to a battle with mental health issues.

Edmond North's principal, Jason Pittenger, sent a letter home to parents which read:

“Dear Edmond Parents,

We wanted to advise you that the North staff has been working today with federal law enforcement officials, regarding a male subject who identified himself in the school’s office as a federal agent.  This was a North parent who has previously identified his employer as a federal law enforcement agency; however, today he suggested he would be taking action in his role as an agent to offer special protection for North.

Having no identification that supported his claim, the parent was denied access to the campus until he could present appropriate ID.  

Uncomfortable with the gentleman’s claim, the school's administrators followed EPS protocol and enlisted the assistance of the campus SRO.  The North SRO then followed up with calls to federal law enforcement in OKC.  From there, the FBI took over the investigation, which is currently in progress.  According to federal investigators, the man was taken into custody at his home.

We would assure you that -- while the parent’s comments were unusual -- they did not suggest that there was a specific danger to the campus.  He did not make threats of any sort, and he cooperated fully with the administrator, calmly answering all questions posed.

As a further matter of assurance, we would underscore that the security and safety of our students and staff continues – each day – to be our greatest concern.  Today’s collaborative interactions among our school, our school district office, Edmond Police Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have combined to provide the highest level of security possible for our shared Edmond North community.”

“His actions and claims and why he was there was what raised their concern,” said Coats.

Carsins was briefly employed by the Oklahoma County Juvenile Detention Center, but was fired.

A preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday to determine if he will remain in jail.

If convicted, he could face up to three years in prison. 

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