Fake Narcotics Cop Caught with Drugs, Sheriff’s Office Says

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — People trying to talk their way out of traffic tickets or other trouble with law enforcement is nothing new. Having someone falsely claim to work for the same agency as an investigating deputy to avoid hot water isn’t quite an everyday occurrence though.

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, its deputies had a run-in with quite a storyteller Thursday night. It all began when the agency received a call about a trespassing incident around 11 p.m. Oct. 13 from a property in the 7100 block of Columns Circle in New Port Richey.

When deputies arrived, they began talking to Jason Domagala, 38, an arrest report stated. During the course of the conversation, Domagala is accused of telling a Pasco Sheriff’s Office sergeant on the scene that he was a narcotics detective for the sheriff’s office, the report said. Deputies checked into that story, but discovered a problem. It seems Domagala isn't employed by the sheriff's office, the report noted.

See also: Oops! Phony Cop Pulls Over 2 Detectives

The tale was “an attempt to get out of being trespassed or any sort of trouble after being given a lawful order by this deputy,” the arrest report said.

Domagala, already facing charges for allegedly impersonating an officer, had his luck turn even worse when deputies searched a book bag in his possession. Inside that bag deputies also happened to find prescription pills and needles Domagala did not have a prescription for, the report noted.

Domagala was charged with impersonating an officer, possession of drugs without a prescription and possession of paraphernalia, the report said.

Thursday’s arrest isn’t the first time by far that real officers have had runs in with those pretending to wear a badge. Last year, a Leigh Acres man found himself in hot water after he allegedly pulled over two detectives who were in an unmarked vehicle. Earlier this year, law enforcement officers in Pinellas County arrested a Largo man multiple times for allegedly attempting to pose as a cop. The man was arrested two times in two days on similar charges, but was accused of continuing to try and pull people over, leading to additional charges.

Booking photo of Domagala courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office