The parents of a New Jersey teen arrested last week for impersonating a police officer have also been charged, officials said Friday.
Dean Pluchino, 18, of Raritan Township, was arrested Jan. 16, following an extensive investigation led by the Raritan Township Police Department, with assistance from Readington police, according to Hunterdon County prosecutors.
Pluchino was taken into custody by Raritan police and charged with two counts of impersonating a law enforcement officer and one count of tampering with evidence. Readington police similarly charged him with impersonating a cop.
The charges stem from allegations that Pluchino had been attempting to pull over drivers in an unmarked vehicle earlier this month. Police tracked the vehicle to a residence in Raritan, where the teen was also found.
On Friday, authorities announced two additional arrests related to the case: Pluchino’s parents, 51-year-old David Pluchino and 49-year-old Reneen Pluchino.
The parents were charged with fourth-degree conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence, according to Lt. Scott Nelson, a Raritan Township police spokesperson.
The new charges come from the same investigation that resulted in their son’s arrest last week. They follow investigators’ discovery of “additional evidence” in the case, Nelson said, without providing additional details.
The younger Pluchino was released on conditional pretrial monitoring, prosecutors said. If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison and $10,000 in fines on each charge.
“Impersonating a law enforcement officer is a serious crime that erodes public trust and endangers the safety of the community,” officials said when announcing the investigation on Jan. 9. “Anyone who falsely presents themselves as a peace officer will be arrested and prosecuted.”
