A Massapequa man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of multiple counts of weapons possession and impersonating a police officer when Nassau County officers pulled over his Chevrolet Impala in October 2023 and found a loaded, operable illegal handgun and police paraphernalia, including handcuffs, police shields and an imposter police tactical vest.
On October 11, 2023, at approximately 10:32 p.m., two officers were on patrol in an unmarked vehicle on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway and attempting to merge onto the highway. The officers stopped to let a car go ahead of them, a white Chevrolet Impala driven by Andrew Denton. While driving on the expressway, Denton brake-checked the officers’ car and then turned on blue, amber, and white rear emergency lights on his Impala.
Officers recognized that the vehicle had characteristics that did not match an actual Nassau County unmarked police vehicle, including too many lights in the car, which made them suspicious. The officers followed the Impala off the highway and engaged their own emergency lights to pull the defendant over.
Denton did not stop the car right away, but instead began driving very slowly and rummaging around in the front passenger seat. He then engaged his emergency rear lights once more to try to throw the officers off and then stopped the car.
After approaching the vehicle, officers spotted inside an orange flare gun in the glovebox, as well as a gun light, designed to be mounted to the bottom of a gun barrel. The defendant and his passenger were asked to step out of the car, which was then searched by the officers who recovered a knife, a New York City Police Department shield, handcuffs, flares for the flare gun, and bore brushes used to clean a .40 or .45 caliber firearm. Officers then found a small gray backpack that contained a loaded .45 caliber gun with two magazines filled with 17 bullets. The investigation also determined that Denton was the major contributor of DNA recovered from the firearm.
Denton’s car was impounded, and another search of the trunk recovered a black tactical police vest with wooden pieces instead of armored plates inside the vest, covered in patches that read “Police DEA Task Force” and “Police.” The vest also had a shield, handcuffs, a fake imitation taser, a baton and a shoulder-mounted radio. He was later arrested by members of the Nassau County Police Department.
Denton, 27, was convicted on October 29, 2025, after a jury trial before Judge Tammy Robbins of two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a Class C violent felony); Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree (a Class D felony); Criminal Impersonation in the First Degree (a Class A misdemeanor); Operating a Motor Vehicle with No License Plate or a Single License Plate (and Unauthorized Colored Lights on Vehicle (both traffic infractions). On February 9, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“Impersonating a police officer is not a harmless stunt or joke. It’s a dangerous crime that could put people at risk,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “This defendant was equipped with tactical gear, real police shields and a loaded, operable handgun on our roadways. He had previously had a run-in with police for outfitting his car to mimic a police vehicle. Andrew Denton is a menace and a real threat to our communities. Today’s sentence ensures that his dangerous days of masquerading as a police officer are over.”