Man busted for meth allegedly impersonates sheriff’s deputy

A Forest man was arrested on meth charges after he claimed he was a law enforcement officer while blocking a driveway near Linwood last week, the authorities said.

Alex Harrell, 35, of 3426 Highway 21 Lot 23, Forest, was arrested and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance and impersonating an officer.

Sheriff Eric Clark said the arrest was made on Tuesday, Nov. 23, early in the afternoon when a resident at a home on Road 325 confronted a man in a gray Dodge Pickup Truck who was blocking her driveway. 

Clark said the woman asked the man to move his vehicle, and when he refused, she said she would call the Sheriff’s Office. Clark said the man in the truck, who would later be identified as Harrell, refused to move and said he was a sheriff’s deputy.

Clark said his office was called and deputies were dispatched to the house just off of Highway 15 South in the Linwood community.

Deputies determined the man was “under the influence of something” and “definitely impaired.” Clark said that after a “small struggle,” they were able to get control of the man and at that time found a small glass container in his hand containing a felony amount of methamphetamine.

Harrell was out of jail by Thursday afternoon on a $15,800 bond.