A man who claimed to be a sheriff while wearing an Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office shirt was arrested early Wednesday morning in McAllen.
Adrian Berrones, 24, began driving his gray pick-up truck erratically on 10th street in McAllen around 1 a.m. after he saw police had pulled over his brother, who was driving in a separate truck on the same street, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Berrones drove by yelling as police officers talked to his brother, Jesus Berrones. Adrian then made a U-turn and sped off continuing to drive at an accelerated speed, the report said.
A different police officer stopped Adrian after noticing him brake aggressively at a red light, seeing the front part of the truck dip forward and hearing a loud screech from the back tires.
Adrian was visibly agitated, the officer noted.
“I could see he was agitated, sweating, and could visibly see his neck pulsating from his elevated heart rate,” the officer said in the affidavit.
The officer asked Adrian to step out of his truck, for the officer’s safety, but Adrian said “no.”
“You can’t make me get out. I’m a sheriff,” Adrian allegedly said.
The officer opened his door and demanded Adrian step out again. By then, the officers who were talking to the brother, Jesus, released him and went to assist the officer who pulled Adrian over.
After several commands to exit his car were ignored, one of the officers pulled Adrian out by the forearm and handcuffed him for reckless driving.
“That’s my brother. Leave him alone!” Jesus shouted as he now drove by the officers who pulled Adrian over. Officers told Jesus to remove his vehicle from the middle of the road multiple times and after being threatened with an arrest, Jesus sped off “nearly running over my feet” and striking a police sergeant standing nearby, one of the police officers wrote in the report.
The report noted it took two officers to get Adrian into the vehicle after he stiffened his body and braced himself against the side of the police car to resist entering.
Once at the police station, officers said Adrian was asked to remove his sweatshirt. Adrian was wearing a shirt with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office emblem on the front and back side. Adrian told officers he previously worked as a jailer.
During the booking procedures, Adrian said he interfered with his brother’s traffic stop because “Jesus had a lot of kids and was paying a lot of child support,” according to the affidavit.
Adrian Berrrones was arrested and charged with reckless driving, resisting arrest and impersonating a public servant. He was released later that day on a combined $8,000 bond.
