Police say a 29-year-old Donna man they encountered late Saturday night admitted to posing as an FBI agent to scare people and to protect his family.
Paul F. Rodriguez is charged with impersonating a public servant.
Donna police encountered Rodriguez after responding to a possible disturbance in the 200 block of South 12th Street just after 11 p.m. Saturday.
Rodriguez told the responding officer that he was by an alley listening to music when a woman began to record him with her cellphone, according to authorities.
“The defendant also stated he knew that in Texas it was against the law to record anyone without their consent. Officer J.P. Arevalo will testify that the defendant told him that he knew that because he is an FBI officer who was transferred to the Bentsen Tower from Arizona,” a probable cause affidavit stated.
Residents in Texas lose their expectation of privacy in public places and it is not against the law to record someone in a public place.
While the officer questioned Rodriguez, police say he pulled out a gold badge that said “Special Agent U.S. Central Intelligence Agency #943.”
“Officer J.P. Arevalo will testify that the defendant advised him that his badge number was 956 and that he had to go to the Bentsen Tower to get it fixed,” the affidavit stated.
However, under further questioning, police say Rodriguez’s claim unraveled and he admitted he was not an FBI agent.
“Officer J.P. Arevalo will testify that after questioning the defendant about his badge and asking him for his federal credentials the defendant told him that he had bought the badge on Wish.com and that he uses said badge to scare people and for the protection of his family,” the affidavit stated.
As of early Monday afternoon, Rodriguez remained jailed on a $20,000 bond, records show.
