Jerry Gallegos: 6-year jolt for cop impersonator who couldn't start car he tried to steal

Large photo below.

On the surface, it seems like a perfect scam. Approach a stopped vehicle, flash a bogus police badge, confiscate the driver's keys and wallet, then hop into the car and drive off. But what happens if the car won't start?

For Jerry John Gallegos, the answer to that question is "a six-year jail sentence."

Look below to see a larger photo of Gallegos, plus additional details courtesy of the Denver District Attorney's Office:

Jerry John Gallegos.

Denver District Attorney's Office release:

POLICE IMPERSONATOR SENTENCED TO PRISON

A 42-year-old man who robbed people last spring by pretending to be a police officer was sentenced to prison earlier this week.

Jerry John Gallegos (dob: 07-18-68) pleaded guilty earlier in October to robbery and was sentenced to six years in the Colorado Department of Corrections by Denver District Court Judge Anne Mansfield.

On May 9, 2010, Gallegos stepped in front of a vehicle, flashed a fake badge made of paper, and asked the victim for identification. He then stole the victim's wallet and car. Gallegos was involved in a similar incident on May 17, 2010, in which he approached a stopped vehicle while dressed in blue, pretending to talk on a police radio. He took the victim's wallet and car keys but couldn't get the car to start. The incidents occurred respectively at 3rd Avenue at Quitman Street and Colfax Avenue at Lowell Boulevard.

Gallegos was remanded immediately to begin serving his six year sentence.

Gallegos' accomplice, Angel Juarez, also pleaded guilty to robbery in October; he is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13, 2010.

More from our Colorado Crimes archive: "Pamela Tolbert urinates on herself while robbing bartender, beating him with pool cue."