Like most of us, Luciano Amador Velazquez got mad at a driver not too long ago. Road rage happens. The other driver got mad, too, and eventually pulled a gun. But only one of the men is facing a felony charge (and it’s not the guy with the firearm).
It was nighttime when Amador claims a Ford F-150 with bright lights was closely following him in his work truck on Hwy. 199 near Azle. Amador turned on Newsom Mound Road, and the Ford was still behind him. Amador pulled over and let the truck pass, but in his anger, he made a mistake. He flashed the red-and-blue lights that he mainly uses for his work in construction.
Now, Amador is facing a third-degree felony charge for impersonating a public servant. The trial was scheduled to start this month, according to Parker County’s case records online, but it was reset. Amador’s lawyer said the trial might take place in February.
When I first interviewed Amador last year, he told me that he flashed his red-and-blue lights after seeing the F-150 driver show his gun when he passed. In a recent interview, Amador is now unsure when he first saw the firearm.
After Amador flashed his lights, the conflict continued for another two miles on Newsom Mound. Amador said he tried to execute a pass, but the F-150 blocked him.
After the incident last year, I also talked with the driver of the F-150, who requested anonymity. To clarify his side of the story, he submitted dash camera footage that started after Amador flashed the red-and-blue lights. The videos show the Ford driver realizing that Amador was not a cop and deciding to call the legitimate authorities. Then, he continued to follow Amador, despite members of his family inside the vehicle pleading with him to stop. The F-150 driver justified his actions by saying that he was protecting other drivers from Amador while also insinuating violence against and threatening Amador several times.
The F-150 driver stopped at Sabathney Road, where Amador was going to turn toward home. Amador stopped behind the Ford and waited for the driver to make a turn or keep going straight. After growing impatient, Amador turned down Sabathney and saw that he was still being followed. Amador sped off, but the F-150 pursued him to Ice House Road, where the conflict reached a tipping point. The F-150 driver allegedly pulled out his gun.
The incident concluded not long after deputies from the Parker County Sheriff’s Office arrived. They arrested Amador, accusing him of impersonating a peace officer. The F-150 driver went home and does not have any pending charges against him related to the incident.
Amador claims he was never trying to disguise himself as a police officer. On the contrary, he said the other driver who had a gun and followed him yet wasn’t arrested was acting more like a police officer.
“I think the gun is worse than just lights,” Amador said. “I didn’t have any knives, no handcuffs. I never told him I was a cop.”
Amador is being tried in Parker County’s 43rd District Court, where his trial date has been pushed back for months. In June 2023, the prosecution presented a plea deal of six years in prison (as opposed to the maximum sentence of up to 10 years), but his lawyer at the time declined the offer.
Neither Parker County District Attorney Jeff Swain nor Amador’s current lawyer, Veronica Veyhl, would say why it has taken over a year for the trial to begin. Amador isn’t sure why the date keeps getting pushed back, either. At some point, he hired his current lawyer because he didn’t feel like his previous one was communicating well with him. What is for sure is that this case is costing Amador thousands of dollars in attorney fees.
Still, Amador is committed to fighting the charges.
“I have to pay all that money and time and checkups and court dates, and sometimes I want to give up,” he said. “I’m not going to give up. I mean, I didn’t do anything wrong. The only thing I did was flash those lights. He pulled the gun on me, and they didn’t do anything to him.”
