Fake police officer convicted of raping woman he pulled over in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa man has been convicted to impersonating a police officer and raping a woman he detained.

After two days of testimony, it took a jury two hours to find Justin Evans guilty.

In August 2021, prosecutors say Evans was driving around Tampa with a fake police light and a sinister motive.

"The defendant pretended he was a police officer he effectuated a traffic stop on a vehicle containing three women," prosecutor Adam Bugg argued. 

Justin Evans took the stand in his own defense. 

One of those women, who we are not identifying because of the nature of the charges, says Evans ordered her out of the car and arrested her.

"He told me I was under arrest because he found marijuana in the car," the witness stated.

She says Evans handcuffed her, put her in the back seat of his car, drove her to an apartment complex parking lot in Tampa and raped her.

"He made me lay on my back and he put his mouth everywhere," she recalled.

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After the sexual assault, Evans ran out of gas and flagged down a driver who drove them to a gas station. During cross-examination, the victim said she feared for her life when she was asked why she didn’t run or try to get away. 

Justin Evans was caught on camera pulling over a second woman. 

She said she was scared that the unidentified driver was working with Evans after she told the man about being raped, but didn't believe her.

"My worst fear is that I take off running and somebody chases me down or tries to kill me, so I just stayed," she explained.

Later, Evans took the stand and denied he pretended to be a police officer.

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His public defender David Hall questioned him.

"Do you order anybody to do anything?" Hall asked. 

"No," replied Evans.

Hall asked a follow-up question.

"Did you tell anybody you're with law enforcement?" Hall inquired.

"Absolutely not," said Evans.

Justin Evans was found guilty of impersonating a cop and raping a Tampa woman. 

Evans even broke down when he describes the sexual encounter with the victim, claiming it was consensual after the two agreed to meet up to smoke marijuana. 

He said, at one point, the woman asked for money in exchange for sex. He said they agreed to $200.

But prosecutors say there is no evidence money ever changed hands and the jury didn't buy it. 

Evans was found guilty of all four charges, including sexual battery and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Evans will be sentenced on December 19.