Wannabe cop in Camden County picked wrong driver to stop
Don't pull over a real officer.
Police in Winslow Township, Camden County, say that Angelino, 40, of Wildcat Branch Drive, in Winslow, was driving a white, unmarked Ford Crown Victoria, complete with tinted windows, sirens and a light bar, when he tried to pull a driver over for a parking violation at 6:32 p.m.
Angelino's alleged traffic violator was really an undercover Winslow officer working a narcotics detail, police said.
"He told the officer he was a federal law-enforcement agent," said Lt. David Deaner, of Winslow.
The undercover officer didn't buy it and radioed for backup, at which point Angelino's charade was up.
Deaner said that police searched Angelino's car and found badges and false police identification.
Back at Angelino's house, police found more pieces of Angelino's costume, including a 9mm handgun, handcuffs, more badges and posters of the FBI's most-wanted list.
"We believe he stole them from a post office, but we're not sure which one," Deaner said.
Angelino's run-in with police made them realize they'd seen him before.
Deaner said that Winslow cops had been involved in a foot chase in Angelino's neighborhood July 22, when he emerged from his home with a police radio attached to his hip.
"He said he was an off-duty officer from Burlington County," Deaner said. "He came out of his house to see if everything was under control. The officers were too involved with the incident at the time, though."
Angelino was charged with impersonating an officer in both incidents.
Police said that they didn't want to provide the location of the arrest because an undercover cop had been involved.
Angelino was being held in the Camden County Jail on $20,000 cash bail, Deaner said.
Police aren't ruling out the possibility that Angelino has used his elaborate props to impersonate an officer at other times. The department is asking anyone who may have been a victim to call 609-561-3300.
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