Fantasist posed as an Arsenal coach and an anti-terror cop

A fantasist who pretended he was a coach at Arsenal FC and posed as an anti-terror cop to impress his ex-girlfriend is back on the streets.

Martynas Isajevas, 28, researched breaking into and knocking his former partner with chloroform and bombarded her with hundreds of messages.

When she threatened to report the Lithuanian to police he told her he ‘was the police’ and had secretly been a Metropolitan police counter-terrorism officer.

Isajevas was sentenced to a six month jail but walked free from court as he had already served seven months remanded in custody.

He worked as a traffic warden for Kensington and Chelsea council but told his girlfriend he was a coach at Arsenal FC.

He photoshopped pictures of himself standing behind members of Gunners staff including Mikel Arteta to support his lies.

His girlfriend, a student at Ravensbourne University, got fed up with Isajevas and split up with him, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Arizuna Asante, prosecuting said she ended the five-month relationship due to Isajevas’ erratic behaviour.

Mr Asante said: ‘In those five months she was more than a little bit concerned about his behaviour.

‘He was pretending to have various employments and also to be oppressive and controlling in the relationship as to her whereabouts.

‘He would go through her phone and ask where she had been and always wanted to know where she was.’

Isajevas claimed he was a football coach at Arsenal and a former player and coach at West Ham United, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Mr Asante said the victim ‘decided she wanted to break up and Mr Isajevas simply refused to accept the relationship was over and continued to try and get back into the relationship with her.

‘After the break-up, the defendant would message her countless times saying words to the effect of he would kill himself if she didn’t get back with him.’

Isajevas told his ex he a he worked as a counter-terrorism police officer and ‘could not tell his own family members about it.’

She found Isajevas behaviour ‘distressing and alarming’, especially photographs of Isajevas dressed up as a policeman in full uniform.

After one exchange she threatened to call police and Isajevas replied: ‘I am the police,’ the court heard.

On one occasion the woman encountered Isajevas at a bus stop near her home in Greenwich and he showed her a Metropolitan Police badge which she thought looked fake.

Analysis of his mobile phone showed that over seven days between 5 Dec and 11 Dec his mobile phone connected to eight phone masts within a and a half miles of her home.

On December 9 he sent her 539 WhatsApp messages, the court heard.

He also repeatedly sent her bouquets of flowers.

When arrested, police discovered he had been searching for ‘how to break in’, ‘lock removal’, ‘how to make locks unlock’, ‘and, more chillingly, making chloroform,’ Mr Asante said.

When arrested on December 11 police found 21 fake Met Police warrant cards in the name of Isajevas and a fake police uniform and police paraphernalia.

Tetevi Davi, defending, said Isajevas has lived in the UK for 10 years and was of good character.

‘Throughout the relationship he made up jobs including being a football coach, a football player, being in a Met Police counter terror unit,’ Mr Davi said.

‘He is remorseful about his behaviour and accepts his behaviour was unacceptable.’

Sentencing, Judge Philip Shorrock said: ‘When your relationship ended you refused to accept that and made a thorough nuisance of yourself.

‘In so doing you caused a good deal of unnecessary distress and alarm.

‘It is an aggravating feature of this case that whatever your motive was you pretended to her you were a policeman.

‘The sentence is one of six months imprisonment.’

The judge added that as he had served seven months in custody already he would walk free and the judge told him: ‘Make sure you behave yourself. If you don’t you will be sent back to prison.’

The judge sentenced Isajevas in the presence of his mother who was sitting in the public gallery, and burst into tears at the end of the hearing.

Isajevas, of Hind Grove, Walthamstow, east London was also given a restraining order of not to contact his victim, not to attend Ravensbourne University campus and not to refer to this court case or investigation on social media.

Isajevas admitted stalking.

He denied a charge of impersonating a police officer and the prosecution and the plea was accepted by the prosecution.
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