How bad is mall parking?
So bad that an Evans man parked in the fire lane at the Augusta Mall on Sunday night and then claimed to be a policeman in order to keep the spot.
“I’m a police officer. I am not moving my vehicle,” Jake Personnius told a mall cop.
The mall cop called the sheriff’s office to investigate the odd claim, and Deputy Thomas Paquette found the suspect nearby at Buca di Beppo Restaurant. (Facebook picture at right)
“Who do you work for?” Deputy Paquette asked the man.
“I am a retired Police Officer from Albany, New York,” said Personnius.
Deputy Paquette told the “officer” that he still had to move. But then Deputy Paquette spotted the driver’s wallet with a badge that said “Dignitary Protection Agent.”
Personnius, 41, then confessed that he wasn’t employed by a police department but was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police.
“I read Mr. Personnius his Miranda Rights,” the deputy said in his report. “Mr. Personnius further stated he has never been a Police Officer.”
The deputy found a second gold badge in the center console cup holder of the man’s vehicle that had the words “Deputy United States Marshall” on it. Personnius claimed that a friend gave it to him.
After determining the man was not a police officer, the real deputy charged Personnius with impersonating a police officer and took him to jail. And the man’s vehicle was towed from the mall.
Note: See more crime stories in a new Jail Report, which hits stands on Wednesday, Dec. 23.
The post Evans Man Impersonates Cop for Better Parking Spot appeared first on AugustaCrime.com - Richmond, Columbia, and Aiken County Jail - Reports & Mugshots.