Alleged gas stealing cop impersonator arrested by Lincolnshire police

A Chicago man was arrested last week for impersonating a police officer and on theft charges for stealing gas from 10 different service stations in at least four towns, Lincolnshire police said Friday.

Michael Wurm, 26, of 1445 Cortez in Chicago, was arrested and charged with felony False Impersonation of a Police Officer and Theft, said John-Erik Anderson of the Lincolnshire Police.

However, because of a long list of police departments lining up to talk with Wurm, it could be a long time before Wurm is released from jail, Anderson said.

On at least 10 different occassions over the past year, Anderson said Wurm, a self-described nightclub promoter, would enter a gas station and tell the clerk he was a police officer at a nearby town and that he left his wallet at home. To prove his claim, Wurm would take the clerk outside to show him the many stickers from the Fraternal Order of Police on the back window of his 2003 X-Type Jaguar, Anderson said.

"He would even have the clerk write down his license plate to convince him that he would be back," Anderson explained. "However, Wurm would never return to the station and the clerk would then call police."

Police would run the license plate, Anderson said, but the plate would not come back registered to the Jaguar or to Wurm.

Anderson said Wurm did not show any police identification to store clerks during the conversations, but the law states that identifying yourself as a police officer is enough to be booked for false impersonation.

False impersonation is a class three felony, Anderson said. If found guilty, Wurm could find himself behind bars for a maximum of three years.

Because the amount of gas he stole was under the $300, the theft charge is only a misdemeanor, Anderson said.

Anderson said Wurm stole gas from stations in Lincolnshire, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield and Naperville.

However, before Wurm is returned to Lake County, he will have to clear his name in DuPage County nd, potentially, other departments in the state.

Anderson said, through the investigation, the real license plate for the Jaguar was discovered and a bulletin was sent out warning to keep an eye out for the vehicle.

Wurm was pulled over by police for speeding on Interstate 55 near Route 83 on July 24. However, Wurm gave police a false identity, which police didn't believe. He was arrested and charged with felony obstruction of justice and is being held in DuPage County Jail in lieu of a $30,000 bond.

In addition, Wurm is also wanted on warrants for deceptive practices and fraud out of Glenview and Skokie, Anderson said, while a handful of other police departments are reviewing further charges for him around the state.

"He has a known history of deceptive practices and for writing bad checks," Anderson said. "So, a lot of departments are looking back through their records to see if there is a warrant out there for for him."