A 23-year-old Florida man, José Juan Lopez, landed in jail Thursday after allegedly impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during a sham traffic stop. The bizarre encounter left two Hispanic men shaken—and Lopez facing felony charges.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says it started around 3 a.m. when Lopez, clad in pajama pants and a backwards cap, pulled his car in front of the victims’ vehicle on a quiet Indiantown road.
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Claiming to be an ICE agent, clad in pajama pants, he demanded their IDs and threatened deportation, according to the men’s account to deputies.
Deputies tracked Lopez down soon after. He flipped the script, insisting he was the victim and that the men had threatened him with deportation. But his story didn’t hold water.
After grilling him, authorities charged Lopez with impersonating a federal law enforcement agent, a felony in Florida.
READ: Florida Arrest: Guatemalan Man Faces Deportation After Illegal Re-entry, Foot Chase
Lopez isn’t new to trouble. His rap sheet includes prior Martin County arrests for resisting arrest, drug possession, probation violation, child abuse, domestic battery, and battery.
Now, he’s cooling his heels on a $2,500 bond, with deputies digging into why he pulled the stunt.
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