Baileyton man charged with impersonating an officer in Marshall, Autauga counties

A Baileyton man is behind bars in Marshall County, charged with impersonating a peace officer, according to Sheriff Phil Sims, and investigators believe its something he's been doing for years.

Alvaro Jimenez, 39, was arrested Aug. 23 after an extensive investigation. He was held on $100,000 bond.

According to the sheriff, Jimenez first came on Marshall County authorities' radar in 2019, when the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office started getting complaints from people in the Arab area about a man identifying himself as an undercover drug agent in local bars and nightclubs.

Sims said investigators identified Jimenez as their suspect, but because of a lack of information, no charges were brought then.

In January, Marshall County deputies made a traffic stop on Jimenez and discovered that he was wanted in Elmore County for impersonating a peace officer and unlawful imprisonment. He was taken into custody and taken to Autauga County to face the charges there.

The Autauga County incident was detailed in an Elmore Autauga News story by Sarah Stephens, published Jan. 28. Jimenez was accused then of following a woman and handcuffing her after pulling her over. The victim, not identified in the news story, said the man claimed to be Deputy Hubert, with the Elmore County Sheriff's Office.

According to the EAN story, Jimenez was jailed on $25,000 bond.

About a month ago, authorities started getting those same reports from bars in Marshall County, that Jimenez was identifying himself as law enforcement. Sims said their investigation found that he claimed to be a trooper, a Cullman County deputy and an undercover drug agent, and that he'd told people he's been shot in the line of duty.

When he was arrested, he was found in possession of a badge, strobe lights, a holster, magazines and bullets, the sheriff said, but no weapon was found.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Man faces second charge this year of impersonating a peace officer