Jolie and Pitt in bogus guard scare

Sep 15, 2006, 15:47 GMT

A man who tried to get a job guarding Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie has been charged with impersonating a federal agent.

Nelson Mercado - who claims to have worked as a security consultant for number of stars - was taken into custody after falsely claiming to work for the US Department of Homeland Security.

Assistant US Attorney Brett Sagel said: "Impersonation of a federal agent is serious, no matter what it's for.

"In this case you don't know what his motive or rationale was, but obviously it could have serious repercussions."

According to prosecutors, Nelson, 46, approached the security company responsible for the wellbeing of Brad and Angelina with fake credentials and drove a car fraudulently registered to the US Dept. of Homeland Security of America.

If found guilty, Nelson - who makes his first court appearance today (15.09.06) - could face up to three years in jail.

This is not the first security scare for the couple this year.

In June, police arrested a photographer on suspicion of trespassing while trying to take a picture of their five-year-old adopted son Maddox outside his school in Malibu.

Brad and Angelina, 31, have two adopted children - Maddox and 18-month-old Zahara - and one biological daughter, four-month-old Shiloh Nouvel.

(C) BANG Media International