ABQ RAW staff
Posted 04/29/2022 6:15PM
Albuquerque – Raul Guerra Martinez used his white Ford sedan with flashing lights to impersonate a police officer. There were 3 incidents where he pulled over individuals and announced he was a police officer called into the Albuquerque Police Department. One viral incident was posted on a Facebook Albuquerque crime page of Martinez yelling out commands to a driver he pulled over. He used actions that would mimic a felony traffic stop with a suspect.
The Facebook post got many comments and many of the community page participants were able to identify Martinez as the person responsible for the police impersonation.
According to a criminal complaint, Martinez began to be investigated by APD when a Sergeant with APD observed the Facebook profile of one of the victims and shared it with detectives. During their investigation APD found a traffic crash incident where an officer scolds Martinez for using flashing lights and appearing as a law enforcement vehicle. Martinez said he recently purchased the vehicle.
During the investigation the real police used a warrant to put a GPS tracker on the fake police car to monitor his travel. Detectives observed Martinez using his flashing lights to speed, ignore traffic lights, and drive recklessly while he operated as a food delivery driver.
Martinez was picked out of a photo line up by at least one of his victims and was charged with 3 counts of impersonating a police officer, criminal damage to property over $1,000, and leaving the scene of an accident.
Martinez has a criminal record dating back to 2018. Charges range from aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, child abuse, aggravated DWI, and driving intoxicated with minors in the vehicle.