Woman charged after reportedly having look-alike FHP cruiser
MIAMI -- A woman was arrested Tuesday after driving a car that reportedly looked like a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser.
According to the FHP, a trooper was performing a traffic stop when they noticed a black and tan colored car with a lightbar in the center lane of State Road 826 just north of NW 58th Street. The trooper also noted that the car had a decal on the side that read "FSO Guard" and another decal that resembled a police badge.
The trooper quickly finished the traffic stop and pulled the black and tan car over.
When asked about the car, the driver, identified as Lulia Pugachev, originally told the trooper she was taking it for a test drive. When the trooper explained that it was illegal to own a car with the same color scheme as the FHP's patrol units, Pugachev said she didn't know that. She then changed her story, according to the FHP, and said she bought the car as is from a car auction called Copart.
Pugachev was then informed that the FHP does not sell any of its marked vehicles under the same colors and they are repainted before selling.
A check of the vehicle found that it was last registered out of Louisiana and had no current license plate. A passenger in the car, Dmitry Pugachev, said he owned the dealership and provided the license plate that was currently on the car, according to the FHP.
When talking with the trooper, Pugachev said she was the owner of a security company called FSO Guard.
Pugachev said when she and her husband bought the car for the security business it was damaged. She said they took it to a body shop in Hollywood to have it repaired.
Pugachev said she then asked an automobile wrap business next to a body shop to wrap the vehicle in black and tan because she had previously seen FHP's marked patrol units and loved the color scheme. When asked about the light bar, she reportedly said a mechanic at the boy shop installed it at her request. She also had a siren installed at her request, according to the FHP.
Pugachev was then arrested and is facing charges of operating a motor vehicle with no registration, imitation on a Florida Highway Patrol marked unit, and misuse of a dealer license plate.
