A former La Habra Heights deputy fire chief accused of posing as an officer when he pulled over a co-worker in Whittier four years ago recently took a plea deal in the case.

Timothy Michael Peel, 37, pleaded no contest on Jan. 10 to one misdemeanor count of impersonating an investigator. He is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 12, 2026.

Under the plea deal, Peel must complete 240 hours of community service, surrender his EMT license, do not possess firearms, write an apology letter to the victim and attend 26 psychological counseling sessions, according to court documents.

The other charges, three felony counts of perjury, will be dismissed after he shows proof that he completed all these.

Peel was arrested in Jan. 27, 2022. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged him last year with four felonies; one count of impersonating an investigator and three counts of perjury.

Peel falsely represented himself as an officer when he detained and intimidated the victim by making commands to pull over while activating red and blue lights on an unmarked vehicle even though he wasn’t an officer, according to the criminal complaint.

The traffic stop happened sometime between May 1, 2021 and July 31, 2021. The victim could not recall the exact date or location but knew it was in Whittier, said Venusse Dunn, a spokeswoman for the DA’s Office.

“Mr. Peel ordered the victim to pull over then admonished the victim for not pulling over fast enough and warned him about a taillight,” she said.

There were rumors Peel pulled over people in addition to the victim but potential victims could not be located or identified, she said.

The two men knew each other and had worked together at the fire department, David Borsari, who is Peel’s attorney, said in a statement.

“Mr. Peel was dressed in his fire uniform during the entire encounter and did not possess any firearms,” Borsari said. “During the encounter the two men had a conversation as each sat in his own vehicle.  Mr. Peel never attempted to issue a citation to or arrest the employee, however, during the encounter the employee has stated he did not feel free to leave.”

While he is no longer a deputy fire chief, Peel is still currently employed by the La Habra Heights, Borsari said.

The DA’s Office also alleged Peel committed perjuries when he used a fire department ID that stated he was an arson investigator and claimed he was an officer in order to buy a rifle from a Bass Pro Shop in San Bernardino County on or about Feb. 20, 2021 and two handguns from The Gun Stock Inc. in Orange County on or about June 4, 2021.

Peel isn’t an arson investigator, Dunn said.

The ID, which was created at the La Habra Heights Fire station, allowed Peel to falsely claim he was an officer when buying the weapons and have the firearm safety testing waived, the criminal complaint alleged.

The DA’s Office offered the following answers why a deal was offered instead of going to trial.

“There were several mitigating factors such as physical/mental health issues, disproportionate collateral consequences, no violence, no prior criminal history, acceptance of responsibility, and only one provable instance involving a fellow coworker,” Dunn said. “The remaining counts involved false information on gun purchases but didn’t result in obtaining guns that he wasn’t already authorized to purchase.”

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