Man posing as police demands entry into house, takes phones, leaves

Authorities Sunday arrested a Texas man accused of posing as a police officer to enter a home and commit theft.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office reported Sunday that it was looking for Salvatore Alfieri IV, 38. Alfieri allegedly showed up at a San Antonio home the day before dressed as a San Antonio Police Department officer, complete with clothing bearing the department’s insignia and carrying a firearm, according to KSAT 12 News. In photos released by the sheriff’s office, the suspect also appeared to be wearing a blue face mask that covered everything but his eyes.

Alfieri demanded access to the house, claiming he was working on “probation” and had to search the premises for “smuggling”. After convincing the homeowners to comply and let him in, he reportedly confiscated their cellphones and left. He fled the scene in a Ford Escape, which was later identified from local security footage.

The sheriff’s department urged the public to provide any information pertinent to the case, updating a Facebook post on Sunday stating that Alfieri had been taken into custody. According to his arrest warrant, Alfieri faces charges of unlawful restraint, interfering with an 911 call, pretending to be an officer and breaking into an apartment with intent to commit a crime.

According to News 4 San Antonio, Alfieri was reportedly taken into custody Sunday after an overnight search by authorities.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a statement posted to Facebook that he was concerned that this was not the first time Alfieri had committed such an act.

“We were lucky that this suspect didn’t hurt anyone in this case,” Salazar said. “However, the calm manner in which he proceeded appears to be neither his first nor his last attempt. We felt it was necessary to warn the public to be on their guard.”

news week reached out to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office for comment.

According to his LinkedIn page, Alfieri has been working as a sales director for SimNet Wireless in San Antonio since February 2020.

Stories of civilians posing as law enforcement, military personnel, or government agency employees are nothing new.

In April, a Florida man was arrested after claiming to be a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent to get a discount at Wendy’s. The man, Jesse Stover, was arrested after his attempt to collect the discount led to an argument with restaurant employees. Police later found a fake badge on his person when he was arrested.