Man arrested for impersonating police to be deported

-- Deepa Bharath

A 46-year-old man who pleaded guilty to possessing false

identification after his arrest on suspicion of impersonating a police

officer will eventually be deported to Mexico, Immigration and

Naturalization Service officials said Friday.

Costa Mesa police arrested Jesus Delcarmen Delgardo Sanchez on Tuesday

after an officer saw him, in the guise of a police officer, stop a woman

in her car.

Officials said police also found in his possession a Costa Mesa Police

Department plastic badge and a blue shirt with a fire department patch on

it. He had also stuck a flashing yellow light on the roof of his car,

police said.

Sanchez will be deported to his home country mainly because he has a

prior conviction for possessing a controlled substance, INS spokesman

Tony Lew said.

He said Sanchez was not a resident of the United States and that his

immigration status was in question because he may have overstayed his

visa.

The INS had put Sanchez on a no-bail hold after his arrest. A judge on

Wednesday sentenced Sanchez to two days of time already served, eight

days of voluntary community service, a year of probation and a $100 fine.