Man accused of posing as US marshal near Libby

A Polson man faces a felony charge after allegedly presenting himself as a U.S. marshal to two minors last weekend. A Lincoln County sheriff's deputy reported the man seemed "shocked" to hear he wasn't actually a law enforcement officer.

Pernell Dionne, 36, appeared in Lincoln County Justice Court on Monday on a single count of impersonating a public servant. He was initially held on a $5,000 bond.

Authorities arrested Dionne about 6:43 p.m. on Aug. 7 after responding to a report of a man making inappropriate contact with several children near the Libby Creek Bridge on U.S. 2. In an affidavit, Lincoln County Deputy Derek Breiland wrote that he arrived to find Dionne resting on a guardrail.

Dionne told Breiland he had been sitting underneath the bridge when two girls appeared. They offered him food, which he accepted. Dionne said the pair seemed frightened, so he told them he was a U.S. marshal and a deputy sheriff, according to court documents. As proof, Dionne showed them a badge, according to court documents.

"The badge is fake and Dionne is not associated with any law enforcement agency," wrote Breiland, who confiscated the badge as evidence.

Breiland asked Dionne why he believed he was law enforcement. Dionne said his grandfather served in the U.S. Army and so, by dint, Dionne "was a cop." He said he showed the girls the badge to make them feel safe around him, according to the affidavit.

"Dionne seemed shocked when I told him he was not a law enforcement officer," Breiland wrote.

He arrested Dionne soon afterward and took him to the Lincoln County Detention Center.