Police in Anaheim, California, recently arrested two men for allegedly posing as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and robbing members of the Latino community.
Officers arrested 19-year-olds Laurentiu Baceanu and Vasile Alexandru on June 20 after they allegedly approached victims, identified themselves as ICE agents and demanded cash. The victims told authorities the suspects spoke to them in Spanish, showed them a fake badge, and fled in a blue SUV after they stole their valuables.
“No police officer would ever approach anybody and demand any type of money,” Anaheim Police Sergeant Jon McClintock told ABC 7. “I know of at least five robberies that have occurred in Anaheim since June 10, and at least one of our robberies involved a large amount of cash.”
Resident Pablo Ramirez almost fell victim to the fake agents when he was recently approached in the parking lot of a Westminster shopping center.
“They came up to me and said, ‘Hey friend, Immigration.’ They pulled out their badges from under their shirts,” Ramirez said. “They were well dressed, kind of like if they were lawyers, and you kind of get a little scared because you think they’re Immigration.”
Ramirez knew something didn’t seem right and threatened to call the police on the two crooks. Just four days earlier, Ramirez says his brother fell victim to the suspects, allegedly getting away with $900.
“They also told him they were from Immigration,” Ramirez said. “The same thing that happened to me. Since he’s only been in this country for a little bit, he did fall victim, and they took his money.”
Nearly five hours after the two robberies occurred on June 20, police located a blue Audi Q7 SUV in Fullerton and arrested Baceanu and Alexandru without incident.
The two men were taken to the Anaheim police detention facility, where they were booked on several counts of robbery and other offenses and are being held without bond.
Impersonating a federal agent is a crime that can carry up to three years in prison and there is a possibility that they will face additional charges locally. Detectives warned that the suspects have likely committed similar offenses throughout the Western United States. They believe the suspects used different vehicles during the robberies, including the blue SUV and “a silver or gray Volkswagen Atlas SUV.”