RSSMan posing as cop jailed after stopping actual officer
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BASIN CITY -- A 20-year-old man who tried pulling over cars Monday night with red and blue flashing lights ended up in handcuffs after one of the motorists was an off-duty Connell officer.
Juan Pablo Gamboa of Basin City was arrested for pretending to be a law enforcement officer as he drove through north Franklin County with the light bar on his dashboard.
He reportedly drove through a residential neighborhood at speeds of up to 70 mph before Franklin County sheriff's deputies caught up with him on Highway 170.
It all started about 9:30 p.m. when Connell Officer Sterling Salisbury and his wife were driving on Fairway Road toward Highway 170, just west of Basin City, said Franklin County Undersheriff Kevin Carle.
Salisbury, was not working at the time and was in a private vehicle, started to pull over onto the shoulder once he saw the red and blue lights behind him. The fake patrol car started to follow Salisbury off the road, then went around him and took off at a high rate of speed, Carle said.
Salisbury "thought maybe it was a little odd" when he saw the silver Jeep Cherokee because he didn't recognize it as a patrol car and immediately called the sheriff's office, Carle said. Salisbury followed the Jeep and gave the license plate number to emergency dispatchers, who traced it to Gamboa.
Salisbury reportedly lost sight of Gamboa as the Jeep sped through a neighborhood where the posted speed limit is 25 mph.
Carle said his deputies are familiar with Gamboa and what he drives, so they headed to his home. When they didn't see the Jeep Cherokee they knew he must have still been in town.
A deputy was headed west on Highway 170 when he noticed a silver Jeep Cherokee pass him heading east. The deputy turned around and stopped Gamboa.
A light bar was found on the rear passenger floorboard, Carle said.
"I'm glad we caught him because people can think he's us," Carle said.
Gamboa was booked into the Franklin County jail on suspicion of criminal impersonation and reckless driving.
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