Texas Man’s Bizarre Traffic Stop with Fake Lights Ends in Arrest

Listen, everybody has their favorite on-screen actor who makes it look easy to be a hero.

When they stop the bad guy and deliver their famous catchphrase, man! That's more than enough to nudge us into our own daydreams of bravery and heroism. However, the majority of us know that our imagination is best kept within our heads.

See, society doesn't look too kindly upon pretending to be something you're not. But for some.....the lines are blurred. And when the lines between daydreams and real life become blurred enough for a person to pretend they're something they're very much not.....things can get a little felonious.

Phony Flashing Lights

You probably know better than to slap on a costume and pretend you're law enforcement.

Well, one Texas man never got the memo, it seems like. And it's all caught on video for you to see. The full video is a little further down, but let's walk through this incident, first.

Meet Joseph Fears, a 36-year-old from Bullard, a small town 15 miles outside of Tyler, Texas.

Last year, Fears was caught attempting to pull over another vehicle by using flashing blue and red lights. For those unaware, the Texas Transportation Code Sec. 547.305 restricts the use of all red, blue or white flashing lights on non-emergency vehicles.

When questioned, Fears told the officers he was a volunteer firefighter for a nearby county. Police decided to call him on his bluff--literally--by asking him to contact his supervisor to confirm.

After an awkward phone call to his "superior" that conveniently had poor connection, the officers started to do a little digging. They quickly found that Fears, in fact, was NOT affiliated with any fire rescue organizations in the area.

Oops.

Penalties of Impersonating a Cop

Ultimately, Jason Fears was charged with impersonating a public servant. According to court documents filed with Smith County district courthouse, Fears pled guilty to the third degree felony in June. He was sentenced to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the offense.

Sound like a stiff punishment? Well, among his prior offenses, Fears is also a registered sex offender due to a sexual assault against a minor in 2007. This served as an enhancement to the most recent charge.

You can watch the full arrest video here from The CrimePiece on YouTube: