A LaPorte man questioned by police at a Valparaiso convenience store Tuesday night about alleged suspicious behavior told officers he had studied criminal law and was related to former Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel and didn’t need to provide police with his identification, according to a report.

Deputies with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department arrested Derek Gensel, 30, on a misdemeanor charge of refusal to aid an officer.

They took him to Valparaiso Medical Center for medical clearance before transporting him to Porter County Jail, where he told a deputy “that he would be suing me and loved ‘getting rich,’ ” police said.

Brian Gensel said in an email that he didn’t know if Derek Gensel was a relative, and that he has some cousins in the area he’s never met.

Police were called at 8:23 p.m. Tuesday to Family Express, 3550 Indiana 2, to investigate a possible drug complaint and a suspicious person, according to the report, after three witnesses said Derek Gensel reportedly had been in the store acting strange and in a neurotic manner.

One of the witnesses claimed he saw Gensel with a hypodermic needle shooting something into his right leg.

Police said they questioned Gensel outside the convenience store, where he said he was waiting for a ride and allegedly said he’d been there for five minutes, though a clerk at the store told police he’d been there for almost half an hour and produced a time-stamped receipt for a lottery ticket Gensel purchased.

Gensel told police they had no probable cause to harass him, and officers explained they were there to ensure he wasn’t suffering from a medical condition or under the influence of anything, the report said.

Gensel continued to refuse to provide his identification, and said he need to see the surveillance video from inside the store, police said.

Gensel continued to be argumentative as police took him into custody, according to the report.

Police were able to confirm his identity with his driver’s license, retrieved from his wallet.

Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.