PORTSMOUTH — A Providence man was arrested by Portsmouth Police on Thursday after he had allegedly misidentified himself in an attempt to sign out a female student at Portsmouth High School the week before.

According to Police Detective Lt. Michael C. Arnold, police responded to the high school at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 13 after getting a report than a Hispanic male, later identified as Armando Hernandez, had entered the front lobby and attempted to sign out a female student.

“Hernandez further provided the school employee with information that he was employed as a Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) social worker,” Lt. Arnold stated in a prepared release. 

When asked for DCYF identification, Mr. Hernandez replied that he was “new” and had not received any credentials, Lt. Arnold said.

“At that point the school employee advised Hernandez that without proper identification or not being on an authorized list, the student would not be released. Hernandez then left the area,” Lt. Arnold said.

After an investigation by the Portsmouth Detective Division, on Thursday, Oct. 19, an affidavit arrest warrant was issued for Hernandez on charged of impersonating a public official. The following day, the U.S. Marshals Service/R.I. State Police Violent Fugitive Task Force apprehended Mr. Hernandez at his Providence home.

“It was also revealed during this investigation that Hernandez was an Uber driver who was providing transportation for cash and was contacted by the student for a ride,” Lt. Arnold said.

Mr. Hernandez pleaded no contest in 2nd District Court in Newport and received a sentence of one year of probation and a no-trespass order for the school grounds, Lt. Arnold said.