SAN ANTONIO – Michael Anthony Horton Jr., 29, who is accused of posing as a San Antonio firefighter twice in one day at the University of Texas at San Antonio, remains in the Bexar County Jail.
Horton is accused of impersonating a public servant, a third-degree felony. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Horton is being held under a $10,000 bond on the most recent charge, but he’s also jailed on an earlier second offense, assault-family charge, from 2018.
Man accused of impersonating San Antonio firefighter while in UTSA buildings
UTSA Police Capt. Tom Calucci said Horton showed up to the campus on Nov. 7 in street clothes and a fake SAFD badge around his neck.
Calucci said Horton claimed he was there to do fire inspections and check fire extinguishers at the direction of “Senator” Greg Brockhouse, who is a former San Antonio City Council member.
“He wanted to be an important guy,” Calucci said. “He wanted to raise his importance level.”
Calucci commended staff members in the school’s multidisciplinary studies building for asking for identification.
Horton said he had the proof in his vehicle, but he didn’t return until later in the day when he was seen in the arts building, Calucci said.
The police captain said he has urged university staff members to not be "afraid to confront somebody.”
But if they feel uncomfortable doing that, Calucci said, the staff members should contact UTSA police immediately.
Horton wasn’t arrested until Nov. 11 at a hotel that had offered free food for first responders.
“They felt he was not who he was saying he was,” Calucci said.
He said UTSA police heard the SAPD transmission from the hotel describing a similar situation to what had occurred at the campus.
When campus police arrived, Calucci said officers recognized Horton and the two fake SAFD badges he had from images captured on the UTSA surveillance cameras.
“Sometimes you can’t argue with evidence,” Calucci said.
In a statement, SAFD spokesman Joe Arrington said anytime the department sends an inspector, there is a prior notification to expect a uniformed inspector.
“They don’t come on campus to do inspections. We have our own team for that," Calucci said.