Police: Accused officer impersonator pulled over unmarked patrol car
A man accused of impersonating an officer was arrested last month when he tried to pull over — of all people — a Las Vegas police officer in an unmarked patrol car.
The criminal coincidence happened about 12:30 a.m. Jan 23 while the real officer and the suspect, Pedro Franco, were headed down Mount Hood Street in northeast Las Vegas.
As the real officer was driving, he noticed a white Hyundai SUV behind him that began flashing red and blue lights “in an attempt to pull over (the officer) in his unmarked vehicle,” according to the report.
The officer stopped, but the SUV kept going. So the officer trailed the SUV, noticing that its license plate matched the plate from a similar incident the day before in which a Las Vegas resident reported being pulled over by a motorist in a white SUV.
The officer continued following the SUV to an address off East Owens Avenue, where the driver — later identified as Franco — was taken into custody.
“Upon closer inspection, after-market lights were observed to be affixed to the front grille of the vehicle in question,” according to the report. “A manual-style light switch that activate(s) the red-and-blue lights was located inside of the vehicle, near the center console/gear shift area.”
The day before, police said, a motorist had flagged down an officer after someone driving a white Hyundai Tucson, with flashing lights on its front grille, had attempted to pull him over on U.S. Highway 95 near Sunset Road.
When the driver pulled over, the individual in the white SUV kept going. The motorist reported the license plate number of the SUV to the police.
In another incident, a woman reported to police that she was driving in the area of East Lake Mead Boulevard and North Christy Lane on Jan. 1 when she noticed a “newer white Hyundai hatchback” behind her with red and blue lights flashing. The woman was suspicious so she slowed down but did not stop. The driver of the Hyundai briefly attempted to stop another vehicle, then sped off.
Police believe Franco, 29, also was involved in that incident.
He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on gross misdemeanor charges of impersonating a public official and attempted impersonation of a police officer. No criminal complaint has yet been filed.
Las Vegas Justice Court records show he is scheduled for a status check March 24.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
