A Murfreesboro man has been charged with impersonating an Arkansas Tobacco Control agent at a local liquor store earlier this month, following the recent arrest of his alleged accomplice.
Jeremy Allen Combs, 27, of Murfreesboro, was taken into custody shortly after 11:30 a.m. and charged with first-degree criminal impersonation, a felony punishable by up to six years in prison. He remained in custody Tuesday in lieu $10,000 bond and is set to appear June 7 in Garland County District Court.
His alleged accomplice, Joseph Tyler Stead, 20, of Hot Springs, was arrested May 12 on the same charge and later released on $1,000 bond.
According to the affidavit, an employee at Big A's Liquor, 501 Park Ave., told Hot Springs police on May 7 that two white males had entered the business stating they were ATC agents. One suspect, identified as Combs, allegedly told a clerk they were working with "alcohol and tobacco people" and that the clerk had sold to a minor, identified as Stead.
The clerk remembered checking Stead's ID, which reportedly said he was above legal age, when he purchased a bottle of whiskey.
Combs allegedly told the clerk that the three of them needed to step outside to take care of the matter. Once outside, Combs told the clerk that he worked with a company that monitors the selling of alcohol and tobacco to minors and gave the clerk his badge number. He said there was a $25 charge for travel from Little Rock for their visit to the store that needed to be paid. Combs said he "would talk to the judge about giving the clerk a warning."
The clerk called the store's owner and let him speak to Combs. The owner said Combs referred to himself as an agent with Arkansas Tobacco Control and gave a badge number of 2117. Combs said the clerk sold to a minor, "but the clerk seemed like a nice guy so he would speak to the judge about making this a warning." He said there was a $50 fee that was due that day, and he would complete his paperwork.
The following day, investigators obtained security footage from the liquor store and watched Combs and Stead enter the store and wait on the clerk as he finished with customers. Before entering the store, Combs was observed pulling what appeared to be a wallet from his back pocket, glancing at it and then placing it back in his pocket, "as if he was making sure he had something." Combs then took photos of the building and the "We ID" sign on the front door and wrote down some notes.
"It should be noted that taking pictures of the business and signs are in line with Tobacco Control procedures when a violation occurs," according to the affidavit.
Photographs from the video footage were placed on social media and published in The Sentinel-Record, and information received reportedly identified the two subjects as Stead and Combs. On May 11, the clerk viewed a photo lineup and reportedly identified Stead as the subject who presented himself as the minor and Combs as the agent.
Local on 05/25/2016