The spirit of vigilantism lives on with more than the recent release of “The Dark Knight Rises”.

A San Jose man has been arrested and indicted for impersonating a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, complete with a fake badge and an unloaded gun to serve some misguided justice and avoid paying his rent, according to the Mercury News.

The 47-year-old vigilante, Jonathan V. Hoang, admitted that he has kept this act up for several years, and during this time he owned a black Crown Victoria that he made into a faux police car by purchasing and installing lights and sirens he bought off the Internet. With this car, Hoang told prosecutors, he would slow down traffic on the 680 freeway between Fremont and San Jose.

He could face up to 10 years in prison for his actions.

The truth behind Hoang’s “heroism” came to light when he was evicted from his rental home earlier in July after failing to pay rent for a number of months. Hoang used the “authority” of his badge and gun to rent the home and have the rent lowered with fake documents he presented as from the DEA.

However, Hoang was eventually evicted and asked the owner to meet him later that night. He was then spotted at the home that day, hours before the proposed meeting. This made the owner uncomfortable and resulted in a call to the San Jose Police Department.

Hoang also admitted to using his alter-ego to intimidate a child that bullied his son as well as scare his girlfriend’s ex-husband.

Acting like a law enforcement official rarely has positive results for the actors as well as the unwitting citizens. Two months ago, Antioch teenagers impersonated police detectives to rob someone’s home by using a bogus search warrant.

Too bad Jonathan Hoang wasn’t around to intimidate those thieves?