Texas accuses Arkansan of posing as officer

TEXARKANA — An Arkansas man was arrested after purportedly visiting a Texarkana, Texas-area clinic wearing a police uniform and telling the staff he tested positive for methamphetamine because he was involved in drug investigations, Texas-side police said.

Leslie Cobb, 50, of Hope was arrested about 11:35 a.m. Wednesday and charged with impersonating a public servant and theft of a firearm, said Shawn Vaughn, a spokesman for the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department.

Vaughn said officers were called to a medical clinic in the 3500 block of Richmond Road and told by a staff member that Cobb — who was a regular patient at the facility — had tested positive for methamphetamine recently and been removed from a treatment program.

Cobb returned to the clinic Wednesday wearing a blue police uniform, complete with badge, and told personnel there that he had tested positive for methamphetamine because he was involved in drug investigations as a law enforcement officer, Vaughn said.

“The officers spoke to Cobb, who had been waiting in a treatment room and was unaware that police had been notified,” Vaughn said. “Cobb told the officers he worked for Miller and Hempstead County sheriff’s offices.”

The shoulder patch on Cobb’s uniform was from the Lewisville Police Department, according to a report.

“There were several inconsistencies with his story that immediately led officers to the conclusion that he was not a law enforcement officer,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn said Cobb had a loaded .38-caliber pistol in a holster on his belt that police determined had been stolen in Hempstead County.

Police said Cobb was arrested and taken to the BiState Justice Building, where he remains in custody.

Cobb’s bail was set at $50,000 on the charge of impersonating a public servant and $10,000 on a firearm-theft charge, for a total of $60,000.