Kimo Leopoldo...tsk tsk...

Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Martial arts fighter wearing police uniform held on meth charge
Kimo Leopoldo was seen by plainclothes detectives in Tustin parking lot in Long Beach police jumpsuit.
By ELYSSE JAMES
The Orange County Register

TUSTIN – Mixed martial arts fighter Kimo Leopoldo was arrested Monday afternoon on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine and wearing a stolen Long Beach Police Department uniform, according to Tustin police.

Two plainclothes detectives at about 3 p.m. saw the 6-foot-3, 235-pound man wearing a Long Beach Police Department jumpsuit, the kind worn by police special enforcement teams, along with flip-flop sandals, in the parking lot of a shopping center at Irvine Boulevard and Jamboree Road, across from the Marketplace mall, said Tustin police Sgt. Jeff Blair.

They approached the 41-year-old to find out if he was a Long Beach policeman, and if he wasn't, why he was wearing a police uniform, Blair said. Leopoldo gave the officers conflicting statements about where he had gotten the jumpsuit.

When the officers searched his car, they found a glass pipe, which can be used to smoke methamphetamine, and a small amount of meth, according to Blair. Leopoldo was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, having drug paraphernalia and having stolen property.

The UFC and PRIDE fighter, who lost to Royce Gracie in Ultimate Fighting Championship 3, had been campaigning to be executive officer for the California State Athletic Commission, which regulates professional boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts, and amateur kickboxing in California, according to the commission's Web site. Leopoldo's most recent fight was in 2006.