Teen Impersonates BEA

LONG BRANCH, NJ — A 17-year-old Neptune boy was armed with a pellet gun, and wore a bulletproof vest and a fake badge when he pulled over a city resident and asked for $50 to avoid a summons, police said.

But the victim told the teen he only had $1, and left without turning over any money early Monday morning, police said.

Two blocks away, the victim and his friend flagged down a police sergeant, and soon after, city officers stopped the stolen sport-utility vehicle that the 17-year-old was driving and took him and three of his passengers into custody, Sgt. Michael McGlennon said.

Now, police said they are trying to determine if the group has committed similar crimes with other victims. So they are letting other local departments know about their case and also urging anyone who may have been a victim to call their police department.

Around 1 a.m. Monday, the victims approached Sgt. Jorge Silverio near the corner of Broadway and Fifth Avenue and told the sergeant that a police officer had pulled him over and asked for $50 to avoid a ticket, McGlennon said.

The victims spoke Spanish and Silverio speaks Portuguese, so he called over Officer Antonia Ahart for a more accurate translation, and she got a description of the teen, and more details about the incident, police said.

The victims told her a man wearing what they described as a uniform — a gun, a police belt, a black shirt and jeans — was driving a gray SUV with a red light on the dashboard, when he pulled them over at Broadway and Third Avenue, said McGlennon.

One of the defendants — later identified as the 17-year-old from Neptune — asked the driver for his credentials, and then the 17-year-old told the victim that the car registration was expired and said he knew the victim was an illegal immigrant, police said. But, the 17-year-old told the victim he would help him for $50, McGlennon said.

But when the victim said he only had a dollar, the 17-year-old allowed him to leave, police said.

After Ahart radioed other officers with a description, Officers Julio Delacruz and Marco Rodriguez and Sgt. Frank Rizzuto spotted the SUV and pulled it over on Rockwell and Union avenues, about a block from Broadway, McGlennon said.

The 17-year-old got out of the SUV, told officers he was a bounty hunter who was searching for someone and tried to walk away, police said.

Police stopped him, and they determined the SUV had been reported stolen in Neptune, McGlennon said.

The other occupants of the vehicle — Paul A. Harvin, 21, of Red Bank; Fatique Snead, 18, of Neptune; and a 15-year-old Neptune boy — were also taken into custody, police said.

The 17-year-old was wearing a black T-shirt, with the words "fugitive recovery agent" in yellow lettering, McGlennon said. The teen wore a bulletproof vest over the T-shirt and also had an imitation police radio with a microphone attached to his vest, police said. He carried real handcuffs, and he wore a nylon duty belt, with a pellet gun in the holster, and a gold, five-star badge that said "special police," McGlennon said.

One of the other defendants, who also exited the SUV when the two victims were pulled over, was wearing a white T-shirt, a black bandana on his head, and a jacket with different color patches on it, police said.

The 17-year-old is charged with impersonating a police officer, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, unlawful possession of a weapon, receiving stolen property, obstruction and theft by extortion.

The 15-year-old, Harvin and Snead all were charged with conspiracy to commit theft by extortion and receiving stolen property. The 15-year-old also was charged with obstruction.

Anyone with information about this case or similar incidents should call the Police Department at (732) 222-1000. Detectives Kimberly Leave and Juan E. Vasquez are handling the investigation.