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SPRINGVILLE — A man who police say tried to impersonate an officer by saying he was part of an undercover drug deal in order to get free gas, was arrested Wednesday night.
A 25-year-old Spanish Fork man went to a Maverik gas station at 1509 N. 1570 West just before 6 p.m. The man first tried to use a check that was not his to purchase gas, said Springville Police Lt. Dave Caron.
The man then showed the clerk a balloon filled with heroin and a Department of Corrections badge and claimed he was making an undercover drug buy in the parking lot and that the employees would get a reward if they helped him, Caron said.
When real police officers arrived, the man told them he only claimed he was "working undercover" and that he "just had" the badge, but was not impersonating an officer.
Dustin Clark Thomas was arrested for investigation of impersonating an officer and possession of a controlled substance, and booked into the Utah County Jail.
The investigation of how Thomas acquired a Corrections badge is ongoing, Caron said.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com
