Man takes odd mugshot after telling Denton police, ‘I am the law!’

A man who painted himself with black ink was arrested Monday in Denton on intoxication and drug paraphernalia charges after he was reportedly running through traffic.

Police were called about 11 a.m. Monday about a suspicious person running in and out of traffic in the 200 block of East McKinney Street near the Denton Square, according to a Denton Police Department probable cause affidavit.

The affidavit said two officers caught up with the man in the 1000 block of West Hickory Street and saw he had the ink all over his face, and also used it to draw a spiderweb on the rest of his body.

When told about the phone calls reporting he was in the roadway, the man said, “I know the law, I am the law!” When asked his name, the man repeatedly said, “I am the law,” the affidavit said.

The man was later identified as Joseph Augustini, 25.

After saying again that he was the law, Augustini told an officer to take off his belt and gun, the affidavit said. He continued to give “rambling random answers,” and he told officers to remove their guns because it would not be a “fair fight,” according to the affidavit.

He had a clear glass pipe in his hand, and residue on the pipe tested positive for amphetamines, the affidavit said.

Augustini was arrested on charges of non-alcohol public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to Denton County Jail records.

This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Man takes odd mugshot after telling Denton police, ‘I am the law!’."