Police Impersonator Arrested

On 5/25/14 at approximately 1456 hours Riverside Police received a complaint from a resident regarding a white Camaro speeding on Hecker St. Within minutes a vehicle matching the witness description was located and a MV stop was performed on Burke St. at Bridgeboro St. The driver of the vehicle was found to be a Repossession and Recovery agent. The driver was identified as Gilberto M. Nunes Jr. dob 1/12/87 of Brooklyn NY. Nunes admitted to have been driving on Hecker St. A check of Nunes NY driver’s license revealed he was valid in NY but had a suspended NJ driver’s license. Warrants for Nunes arrests totaling $2200 were reported out of various NJ Municipalities. Nunes was taken into custody without incident. During the initial contact with Nunes he identified himself to police as a Federal Recovery agent or “repo man”, and the vehicle he was found to be driving was a vehicle he recently had recovered under a bank “repo” order. Nunes stated he was employed by Federal Recovery out of Wayne NJ.

Similar Badge
During the processing of the suspect a witness came forward and reported to police that a male matching the suspect’s description had threatened her while she was at her residence in Riverside. The witness further stated the threats involved the suspect telling her he was a law enforcement officer and he would place her under arrest if she did not comply with his orders. The witness advised police the threats were made on two separate occasions and during the first confrontation the suspect had a badge on a chain around his neck when he portrayed himself as a police officer. On the second occasion the witness stated the suspect had the badge around his neck but did not take it out but again threatened the victim by intimidating her, and the witness stated she asked him for his credentials and the suspect refused. The witness advised police that the suspect frequented the property she lived in and may have been related to the landlord. The witness stated she saw the suspect recently driving a blue tow truck labeled with a name of Federal Recovery in a triangle type shape on the door that resembled that of many police department vehicles in New Jersey, including Riverside's. The witness gave a written statement to police regarding the incident.

 Information was obtained that lead police to believe the suspect did have a “badge” in his tow truck. Consent to search was given to police by Nunes and located in the truck subsequent to the search was a large can of Law Enforcement style pepper spray, a baseball bat, and a “billy club”. A badge similar to that used by all law enforcement officers was located in the center console. Imprinted on the badge it stated “Repossession Recovery Agent United States of America." All items were seized as evidence.
Nunes was charged with the following:

2C:39-4d Possession of Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose 3rd degree
2C:28-8b Impersonation of a Law Enforcement Officer 4th degree
2C:39-5d Possession of Prohibited Weapon 4th degree
2C:39-9d Possession of Mace more than ¾ of an ounce 4th degree

Bail was set at $10,000.00 with 10%. The defendant was lodged in the Burlington County Jail pending a court appearance.
Gilberto M. Nunes Jr.