Lake in the Hills man charged with impersonating cop

A 23-year-old Lake in the Hills man was charged with felony impersonation of a police officer after an incident Thursday at the Premium Outlets mall in Aurora.

Blake Meadows is charged with two counts of false impersonation of a police officer and filing a false report, according to police and court records. If convicted of the most serious charge, he could face up to seven years in prison. Probation also is an option.

According to court records, Meadows was arrested on a similar felony charge in East Dundee in August 2010, but the charged was dropped four months later.

This time, Meadows is accused of filing a false police report and misrepresenting himself.

Aurora Police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said police were called to the mall at 6:05 p.m. Thursday and Meadows, who was contracted by a store to work security, originally told police he was attacked by two men while sitting in his car that was parked in the mall lot.

“(Meadows) had several minor injuries that appeared to be caused by a knife or other sharp object, about his body. He declined medical treatment. Upon investigation, it was found that the wounds were self-inflicted. The false impersonation of a police officer charges stem from the fact that he had told responding officers that he was an off-duty police officer,” Ferrelli wrote in an email.

Meadows’ bail was set at $10,000 and his next court date is Dec. 22.

It was in immediately clear who was representing Meadows. A call to Mark Uteg, an attorney who represented Meadows on his 2010 charge that was dismissed, was not immediately returned.