Fake Cop Tried To Kidnap NJ Woman During Traffic Stop, Authorities Say

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A Passaic County man is behind bars after trying to kidnap a woman while pretending to be a police officer, prosecutors say.

Julio D. Estrada-Mogollon, 36, of Wayne, faces a slew of charges following a kidnapping investigation that launched earlier this month.

On May 3, around 2:15 a.m., the victim left a Saddle Brook business and was driving home on Route 80 West when a dark-colored sedan with emergency lights attempted to pull her over in Roxbury, officials said.

Believing the sedan was a law enforcement vehicle, the victim pulled over, assuming it was a traffic stop.

Mogollon asked the woman for her documentation, ordered her out of the vehicle, and attempted to conduct a field sobriety test on her, officials said.

He then handcuffed her and told her she was under arrest, according to police. When she asked to see his badge, he walked back to his vehicle, authorities added.

It was then that the woman got back in the car, slipped the cuffs, and drove off. She soon realized she had left her cell phone behind, and reported the incident to New Jersey State Police in person the following morning.

The woman’s phone was soon found in Paterson.

After an investigation, authorities determined that it was Mogollon who had been driving the sedan. He was arrested at his Wayne home on May 12.

Mogollon is charged with attempted kidnapping, theft, and impersonation of law enforcement. He is being held in the Morris County Jail to await court proceedings.

Anyone with information about this incident, or similar incidents, is asked to call the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office at 973-285-6200 or the NJSP Troop “B” Detective Bureau at 973‑347‑1001.