LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Police arrested a man at a hospital on allegations he pretended to be a police officer and stole a car during a fake traffic stop.
Richard Garcia, 21, faces charges of robbery, grand larceny of a motor vehicle, and impersonating a public officer, records said.
On Thursday, April 24, officers arrested Garcia on a warrant at a hospital, they said. Garcia, a walk-in victim, told staff his friend “was driving… too fast, causing a crash.”
On Dec. 14, 2024, a person called police to say that his brother was “pulled over by a gray Honda sedan with red lights,” documents said. The caller’s brother, the driver, believed “it was the police” stopping him.
The driver, a teenager, said a man came to his window, “flashed a badge” and ordered him out of the car, documents said. Several other people followed in other vehicles, the driver told police.
“When he stepped out… the suspects told him to sit [on] the ground and they jumped into the [driver’s] seat,” documents said. The driver walked home and called his brother because his car was in the now-stolen vehicle.
Several hours later, police located the vehicle, and officers attempted to stop the driver. The driver sped off at speeds reaching 100 miles an hour, police said. The police attempted a second traffic stop several days later, but the driver escaped. On Dec. 18, police recovered the vehicle, which appeared to have “crashed into something” recently.
In March, a fingerprint from the stolen car’s driver’s side window came back matching Garcia, police said. Investigators later determined Garcia was likely the person who stole the car, documents said.
Police later spoke with Garcia on the phone, who told them he frequented drugs and alcohol around that time, “was stealing cars but was adamant he did not remember [the car involved].”
Garcia did not appear in court for his probable cause hearing due to medical reasons, records said. A judge denied setting bail.
Garcia did not appear in court for his initial appearance because he refused, records said. Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Amy Chelini denied setting bail. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 5.
