Fake cop forces his way into hotel room, cuffs woman and robs her, Florida police say

An armed man posing as a police officer entered a woman’s hotel room, physically restrained her and robbed her, Florida law enforcement said.

Michael Darren Jesse Rodriguez, 27, was arrested in Georgia driving a vehicle connected to incidents in Orlando and Lantana, the Orlando Police Department said in an Oct. 17 news release.

On Aug. 23, a woman reported an armed robbery at her hotel room near Universal Boulevard and International Drive, not far from Orlando’s theme parks, police said. She told investigators that a man wearing a police badge “forced his way” into her room, handcuffed her and stole her wallet, according to police.

The man was seen on hotel security footage wearing a police badge — that turned out to be fake — around his neck, investigators said.

He drove to several cities in Florida during August, then police identified the fake cop as Rodriguez, a New York man wanted in connection with a similar armed robbery in Lantana, which is about a 60-mile drive north from Miami.

In September, law enforcement in the Atlanta area contacted Florida police, saying they had spotted a vehicle associated with the prior incidents and taken Rodriguez into custody, investigators said.

Detectives from Orlando said they traveled to Georgia and searched his vehicle, where they say they found a fake badge, handcuffs and other items.

Rodriguez is expected to be extradited from Gwinnett County to Orange County, Florida, where he’ll be charged with falsely impersonating an officer to commit a felony with a weapon, false imprisonment with a weapon and robbery with a firearm, police said.

This story was originally published October 18, 2024 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Fake cop forces his way into hotel room, cuffs woman and robs her, Florida police say."