ATLANTA -- A man accused of impersonating a doctor during a ruse that even fooled his new wife faced a superior court judge in Fulton County Monday. The officer who arrested Eric Perteet, 27, at Piedmont Hospital testified at the preliminary hearing that Perteet admitted that one of his motives for pretending to be a physician was to meet women.
Officer Scott Jimenez took the stand and told the court about the arrest of Perteet on May 19. Jimenez said Perteet was first detained by security officers at Piedmont Hospital when hospital staffers said they spotted a strange man in sensitive areas of the hospital, including the intensive care unit.
Jimenez said Perteet was wearing stolen booties, a mask, and had a doctor's badge with his picture Scotch-taped on top. He was also carrying a hospital cell phone, pager, and a prescription note pad.
"He stated that he was also writing his autobiography during the time. He also indicated that it was very easy for him posing as a doctor to meet women at the hospital," Jimenez said.
As for motive, Perteet said he was unemployed and had nothing better to do on a daily basis, the officer testified. Perteet's wife of two months was in the courtroom listening as the officer said Perteet also admitted having an affair with a hospital employee. "I really just came because I never knew the events that led to his arrest or why he was arrested so I came to just find out actually what happened and I'm just very disappointed," a teary-eyed Tammi Perteet told 11Alive News.
Tammi Perteet said she plans to get an annulment, since her marriage was based on a fraud. Tammi Perteet said her husband even lied about his age and said his parents and children had been killed in an automobile accident.
http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=116697&catid=3