Fake cop, real pursuit charges land Lawton man in jail

A Lawton man is in jail after investigators said he led police on a Friday afternoon pursuit that endangered others as he drove against traffic.

After claiming he was a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) police officer, he was taken into custody and his badge and radio were discovered to be plastic and fake.

Vester Lee Autabo Jr., 48, made his initial appearance Monday in Comanche County District Court where he received a felony charge of endangering others while eluding police and misdemeanor charges of impersonating a police officer and failure to obey traffic lights, records indicate. Due to two prior felony convictions, he faces between two to 10 years in prison if convicted of the felony.

Lawton Police Officer Christopher Adamczyk stated he was leaving the police station around 4:45 p.m. Friday when he learned a car had been following ambulance traveling to the jail at a high speed and going through red lights and stop signs. He saw a gray Ford Fusion following the ambulance and enter the parking lot after going through a stop sign, the probable cause affidavit states. The car pulled back on Southeast Larrance Street with the officer following and blew through the stop sign while turning westbound onto Gore Boulevard’s eastbound lanes.

The pursuit continued westbound and the Ford drove through Braum’s parking lot, 151 N. Sheridan, before going northbound onto North Sheridan Road, Adamczyk stated. A stop was made when the car tried to go into the Walmart parking lot, 1002 N. Sheridan, and was blocked by traffic.

Autabo rolled his window down about five inches and yelled out that he was with the BIA before rolling his window back up, according to the affidavit. He got out of the car and was taken into custody with what appeared to be a radio attached to his hip and a microphone attached to the upper part of his vest and was wearing what appeared to be a blue dress-style police officer’s hat, Adamczyk stated.

During a search, it was determined the badge and radio were fake, the affidavit states. The radio displayed “POLICE” in white letters and the badge displayed “CITY POLICE,” Adamczyk stated.

While en route to jail, Autabo stated that all of the officer’s gear was being monitored by the BIA due to the sex trafficking and child pornography that he alleged the Lawton Police Department was involved with, according to the affidavit.

Autabo has prior felony convictions in Comanche County: June 2011, driving while under the influence of alcohol, second and subsequent; and March 2023, driving while under the influence of drugs, second and subsequent, records indicate.

Held on $20,000 bond, Autabo returns to court at 3:30 p.m. March 25 for his preliminary hearing.