By Andrew McIntosh
Sacramento Bee
Copyright 2008 Sacramento Bee
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — A Huntington Beach felon featured in a Bee story about rogue rescuers was charged Friday with illegally possessing guns and impersonating a Los Angeles County firefighter paramedic even though his state license was revoked 10 years ago.
The Orange County district attorney filed three counts against James Charles Campbell, 45: two felony counts of buying and possessing a handgun and shotgun despite being a felon, and a misdemeanor count of firefighter impersonation.
The county also is looking into a Bee report that Campbell retains a Florida paramedic license, despite criminal convictions in Arizona for burglary and stealing credit cards from patients, said district attorney’s spokeswoman Farrah Emami.
Campbell, who did not return a message seeking comment Friday, will be arraigned next month. If convicted, he faces up to 44 months in prison, Emami said.
California regulators yanked Campbell’s state paramedic license in 1997 after they discovered he had not disclosed his Arizona crimes.
Now, prosecutor Andre Manssourian alleges that Campbell pretended to be a helicopter-flying Los Angeles County firefighter paramedic from 2001 until investigators searched his home and arrested him in September 2007.
Campbell allegedly traveled to high-profile disaster sites wearing Los Angeles County fire gear and badges, gaining access to secure areas. Those disasters included the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York City, the Esperanza fire in Riverside County and Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.
Several Southern California government agencies and private firms also hired Campbell’s company, Frontline Safety Products, to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, thinking he was a firefighter, Emami said.