Behind the Badge
The man in the black Cadillac forced the car to stop.
He then told the two women in the car he was a police officer and that he planned to arrest them.
When the women told the man they were going to call the police to verify his status, he ran back to his car and sped off.
The women were able to read his license plate, which eventually led to the man’s arrest.
Monday, the Anaheim PD said the suspect, Gabriel Magna Lopez, 42, a local transient, might have pretended to be a cop before.
The incident involving the two women occurred around 10 a.m. Oct. 26, police said.
The women, both adults, were driving south on Anaheim Boulevard near the intersection of La Palma Avenue when a dark-colored Cadillac passed them.
The Cadillac slowed and appeared to deliberately block the victims’ path, according to police. The Cadillac then stopped and the suspect exited his car before fleeing when the women said they were going to call the police.
On Dec. 4, Anaheim Police located Lopez in his vehicle and arrested him without incident. He was booked on suspicion of felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor impersonating a police officer.
Lopez since has been transported to the Orange County Jail, where he is being held on $25,000 bail.
The Anaheim PD is asking anyone with information about this crime or others involving this suspect to contact Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS, www.occrimestoppers.org , or text OCCS and your tip to CRIMES (274637).
Any contact can be anonymous, police say.
