Texas man impersonates police officer, robs homeowners, police say

SAN ANTONIO (KSAT) - Authorities in Texas are reminding the public to ask for identification when talking to a law enforcement officer after a man allegedly impersonated an officer to get inside a home and rob the owners.

Salvatore Alfieri, 38, is now in custody.

He is accused of impersonating a police officer and burglarizing a home while wearing a ski mask and a police tactical vest, according to Sheriff Javier Salazar.

Alfieri claimed to be with the San Antonio Police Department.

“He claimed to be an officer that needed to do some sort of probation check and indicated that he needed to do a search for contraband in the house,” Salazar said.

Alfieri was armed, and once he got inside of the house, he threatened the woman at the home.

The sheriff said Alfieri made her give him cell phones and a large sum of cash before leaving.

Luckily, her surveillance video captured him clearly and helped police to identify him.

A post by the sheriff’s office on Sunday led to helpful tips that Alfieri was waiting for a Lyft. Salazar says officers performed a traffic stop on the car in which he was riding.

Salazar said it is important that he is off the streets.

“The information that we were developing is that he was desperate for money, and so the concern obviously was that he was gonna do it again. And maybe the next resident wouldn’t be so fortunate and something bad would happen,” he said.

The sheriff’s office said it is possible Alfieri committed similar crimes previously.