Everett, Wash.
Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008

Alleged police impostor arrested

Arlington police say the long-haul trucker used a fake identity to scam prescription narcotics from unsuspecting businesses.

By Jackson Holtz
Herald Writer

 ARLINGTON -- Arlington police are investigating a long-haul trucker who is accused of stealing drugs and impersonating police and fire officials for more than 30 years.

Police believe the man, 51, of Wallace, Idaho, wore a Washington State Patrol jacket and put a police badge on his German shepherd "Sweetie" to scam prescription drugs, according to a search warrant filed in Snohomish County District Court.

He's accused of using the authority of a police badge to gain trust, obtain prescription narcotics and steal from unsuspecting businesses.

"This is off the scale. This is beyond a fascination with police work, this is beyond a person who listens to the scanner," Arlington police Chief John Gray said. "This is a person who is actively engaged in very selfish reasons that have nothing to do with why these (police) agencies were created, which is to serve and protect. He's doing it for the simple reasons of ego and drugs."

In October, dressed in police garb and accompanied by Sweetie, the man allegedly visited a medical clinic on Smokey Point Boulevard to request a prescription for OxyContin, the documents said.

Detectives interviewed the doctor who treated the man. She said she became suspicious of the man and wrote a prescription for a less potent painkiller, despite the man's objections.

The man then allegedly altered the prescription and took it on Oct. 29 to an Arlington Rite Aid. When the man went to pay for the drugs, his debit card was declined. He told pharmacists he had cash in his vehicle and would be right back. He allegedly took the drugs and left, leaving the pharmacy short $396.99, documents said.

Arlington police detectives started investigating the man and found a long trail of his deceit.

A former employer said the man was fired, in part, for telling people he was a cop, the documents said.

He claimed he used to work for the State Patrol, had been a firefighter in Orting and that Sweetie was a drug dog. He put police like decals on his truck and on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the documents said.

The State Patrol told Arlington police the man never worked as a trooper. Police don't know how the man obtained the State Patrol jacket or badge, Gray said.

The closest the man came to police work was working as an escort for funeral processions in Idaho, according to Shoshone County sheriff's deputies. The sheriff's office in Idaho also told Arlington police they believed the man was addicted to OxyContin and that his son had died from an overdose of the drug.

In August, Bothell police opened an investigation into the man after he tried to get a prescription for OxyContin from a medical clinic there. Clinic officials learned the man had been banned from other clinics in Idaho and Washington for so-called drug shopping, where people go to multiple doctors in search of narcotics, the documents said.

The Bothell investigation uncovered evidence the man was investigated in Lynnwood in 1977 for impersonating a police officer.

Gray said the man is under investigation for similar incidents in Everett, Montana and Kentucky.

Pharmacies issued a multistate bulletin about the man and Arlington police have received several tips from afar, Gray said.

Arlington arrested the man last week and he was booked into jail on May 6 for investigation of theft and impersonating a police officer.

Bail was set at $2,500. On May 8, he posted bond, said Jim Harms, a jail spokesman.

Arlington police are investigating the man for a new incident since his release from jail, Gray said.

The man checked into the Quality Inn, allegedly showed the clerk a badge and demanded a special rate for law enforcement employees.

Police employees are prohibited from asking for any such privileges, Gray said. The man allegedly left the motel without paying his full tab.

The man isn't currently wanted by police, Gray said. Still, the State Patrol jacket hasn't been recovered and police are upset that the man allegedly continues to pass himself off as law enforcement.

"Respect is so hard to earn and so easy to lose," Gray said. A police uniform and badge should instill confidence.

"They shouldn't have to be skeptical of that."



Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA