Man accused of posing as officer during hotel armed robbery, Orlando police say

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Police Department said a suspect accused of posing as a cop has now been arrested.

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Police received reports of an armed robbery at a hotel on Universal Boulevard and International Drive on Aug. 23.

Law enforcement spoke to the victim, who said a man wearing a badge around his neck broke into her hotel room and claimed to be a police officer.

Detectives said hotel surveillance video showed the man handcuffing her and taking her wallet with a gun in his waistband.

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According to police, surveillance video showed the suspect’s car, which stopped at other Florida cities in August, and identified the man as 27-year-old Michael Darren Jesse Rodriguez from New York.

Rodriguez was wanted for a similar armed robbery, but this incident was investigated by the Lantana Police Department.

In September, the Gwinnett County Police Department contacted LPD when they found Rodriguez driving the same car.

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Orlando detectives said they searched the car in Gwinnett County and found evidence connected to the Lantana and Orlando cases, including a fake police badge and handcuffs.

There is now an arrest warrant from OPD for Rodriguez.

OPD said that once Rodriguez is sent back to Orlando’s jurisdiction, he faces charges of impersonating and officer and robbery with a firearm.

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Man accused of posing as officer during hotel armed robbery, Orlando police say The Orlando Police Department said a suspect accused of posing as a cop has now been arrested. (Orlando Police Department /Orlando Police Department)

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