Fake badge, free gas. MS Coast man accused of impersonating federal agent
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Man arrested after using fake federal badge to solicit free gas in Mississippi
- FBI search uncovered second counterfeit badge at suspect's residence
- Judge released suspect on bond.
A Mississippi Coast man scored some free gas and a trip to jail after flashing around a fake badge and impersonating a federal agent at a gas station, according to records filed in the case.
Daron Williams is being held on a federal charge of unlawfully possessing and displaying a badge to impersonate an officer at a Moss Point gas station Tuesday night.
The trouble for Williams began after Moss Point police officers first responded to a report of a man impersonating a federal agent at a Circle K gas station Tuesday night.
When police got there, they found Williams with a counterfeit U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service badge clipped to his belt. In his car was a holster and a BB gun built to look like a real handgun, according to a federal complaint filed by FBI Task Force Agent Samuel Tucker.
Witnesses at the scene said Williams had gone up to various people at the gas station, introducing himself as a federal agent who had just returned from overseas and had run out of gas.
He eventually convinced one stranger to spend $27 on gas for his vehicle.
When questioned, Williams denied pretending to be a law enforcement officer. He said he did tell one person he worked for the government transporting people and said he “sat in rooms.”
During an interview after his arrest, Williams claimed the badge belonged to his late grandfather, who had been a federal agent. However, authorities determined the badge was fake.
FBI agents along with agents with the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team later got a search warrant and searched the man’s home, where they found a second counterfeit badge.
Williams had his initial court appearance Wednesday before Judge Robert Myers in federal court in Gulfport.
Afterward, he was released on an unsecured $25,000 bond with additional instructions to continue medical and psychiatric treatment and to refrain from drinking alcohol or using drugs.
Williams is tentatively set to go to trial in October.
This story was originally published September 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
