Fake Cop in Massage Parlor Wanted for Questioning

Police are looking for a man they say entered a Laguna Hills massage parlor and said he was a cop.

On Jan. 28, a man entered the parlor for a massage, according to an Orange County Sheriff's Department statement. He told two masseuses there that he was a police officer, displayed a badge or identification card, and told them to sit down and not move. He then said that he had received an illegal massage and was calling for backup.

One of the masseuses asked to see his identification, and the man started walking to the front door, saying that the women shouldn't move until his backup arrived. One of the female employees then dialed 911 and told the man that she was on the phone with a dispatcher. The man then fled the business, heading north on Paseo De Valencia in a dark older-model sedan.

The incident is not believed to be related to a , said Sheriff's Department Investigator Dan Salcedo.

"We believe that this is a separate incident and a separate suspect, and this happened prior to the other one," Salcedo said. "This guy is posing as a police officer, and it doesn't bode well for the law enforcement community. It seems like his intention is receiving a free massage, or he's doing it for whatever reason."

Anyone with information related to this case is encouraged by police to contact investigator J. Gentile at 714-647-4110 or the department commander at 714-628-7170.