Phony cop busted by undercover deputy

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Guns, vests and a car rigged with emergency lights: Investigators said he had everything he needed to be a cop, but he was not law enforcement.

Orlando Jaramillo, 35, is behind bars after Bernalillo County Sheriff's deputies said he defrauded a company out of thousands of dollars and pretended to be a deputy.

Jaramillo ran up a tab of more than $20,000 with a local company that outfits real cop cars, by fooling them into believing he was with the sheriff's department, according to a criminal complaint.

When Jaramillo did not pay up, the owner called BCSO and found out that Jaramillo was a phony.

Jaramillo used his real name and his real address when making the order.

Deputies started watching Jaramillo at his home and even watched him turn his police lights on so he could speed past traffic and through a red light.

Investigators lost him, but caught up with him on Thursday, when they said he did it again.

This time deputies also had a detective in an unmarked car who deliberately sped past Jaramillo.

Investigators said the phony lawman took the bait. Jaramillo, who was pretending to be a deputy, actually chased the real deputy and pulled him over.

The criminal complaint states that Jaramillio then came to the deputy's window, flashed a state police badge and a loaded gun.
Backup arrived on the scene and arrested Jaramillo.

The undercover detective who Jaramillo pulled over said he felt threatened and would have possibly shot Jaramillo if backup had not immediately intervened.

Jaramillo's neighbors said they were not surprised by the news of the arrests.

"He tried to be like the hero in the neighborhood," Tracy Hausermann said. "Whenever there was chaos, or someone breaking into a car, he tried to play it off like he had everything under control."

Deputies found guns, ammo, bulletproof vests and electronic stun guns in Jaramillo's car and home.

He is behind bars on a $50,000 cash only bond charged with fraud, false imprisonment and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.