Man armed with Sharpie, steak knife arrested in impersonation of an officer

SALT LAKE CITY — A man armed with a steak knife and a Sharpie was arrested Tuesday after police say he tried to impersonate an officer. 

The arrest comes less than three months after the man was convicted in another case of impersonating a police officer.

About 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, a tenant at an apartment complex, 115 S. 300 East, noticed a man at the door of a neighbor's apartment who was out of town, said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Josh Ashdown.

"The suspect had written on the door with a Sharpie, 'Under investigation by UPD,'" Ashdown said.

The man flashed a card at the neighbor, claiming it was a badge and that he was a police officer. The neighbor, however, didn't believe the man, who had three large letters tattooed across the front of his neck and another tattoo over his left eyebrow, Ashdown said. When the man told the neighbor to "go ahead, call police," the neighbor obliged.

As the neighbor was calling police, the man who claimed to be an officer picked the lock of the door he was standing in front of and went inside, Ashdown said. When real officers arrived, they found the man inside with a bag full of jewelry he had collected. The man had also written another note with the Sharpie saying he was there as part of a Unified Police Department investigation, Ashdown said.

Police also discovered the man had a steak knife in his pocket.

Fidencio Ulibarri, 28, was arrested for investigation of burglary, impersonating an officer and possession of a weapon by a restricted person.

In September, Ulibarri pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to another charge of impersonating a police officer. According to court records, Ulibarri entered a woman's home and told her he was a Unified police officer and was "searching for somebody." He received a suspended jail sentence for his conviction.

In 2003, he was sentenced to up to five years at the Utah State Prison for felony escaping from official custody.

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