Dallas man sentenced for drunkenly dragging Hudson Oaks officer through H-E-B parking lot
HUDSON OAKS, Texas - A Dallas man was handed a lengthy prison sentence for drunkenly dragging a Hudson Oaks Police officer through a grocery store parking lot, adding another conviction to the man's long legal history.
Hudson Oaks Police Officer Dragged
Jose Gonzales, 51
What we know:
On Wednesday, August 5, 51-year-old Jose Gonzales was found guilty of assault on a peace officer and evading arrest in a vehicle.
A Parker County jury sentenced him to 55 years for the assault conviction and 17 years for the evading arrest conviction. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Gonzales was convicted for a 2025 incident where he dragged Hudson Oaks Police Officer Hector Velasquez through an H-E-B parking lot.
Dallas man sentenced for dragging officer through parking lot
A Dallas man was given 55 years in prison for drunkenly dragging a Hudson Oaks police officer through an H-E-B parking lot. FOX 4's David Sentendrey has more.
Witnesses saw Gonzales acting erratically and driving the wrong way down roads in Hudson Oaks. Gonzales pulled into an H-E-B parking lot nearby before intermittently passing out.
When Hudson Oaks Police arrived, they noticed several alcoholic beverages in the front seat of Gonzales' car, and that he appeared to be intoxicated.
Hudson Oaks Police Officer Hector Velasquez attempted to get Gonzales to put the car in park, but Gonzales accelerated and dragged Velasquez across the parking lot.
Gonzales sped away after Velasquez let go of the vehicle. The officer suffered minor injuries from being dragged. Hudson Oaks Police later arrested Gonzales several miles from the H-E-B, where he had rear-ended a truck at a stop light.
Gonzales' blood-alcohol content at the time of the incident was .22, nearly three times the legal limit of .08. Gonzales, who lived 60 miles away in Dallas, told officers at the scene he lived down the street and was trying to buy meat and diapers.
During the trial, jurors learned that Gonzales had 23 prior arrests, and had been convicted of evading arrest, assault, burglary and theft before the H-E-B incident.
Jurors deliberated for 90 minutes before handing Gonzales his sentence. Testifying in his own defense, Gonzales told the jury he had no memory of how he ended up in Parker County,
What they're saying:
"It was time for him to get a big sentence and this jury took care of business," Parker County District Attorney Jeff Swain tells FOX 4's Davis Sentendrey.
Swain says Gonzales' lengthy legal history played a part in his 55-year sentence.
Jeff Swain (L) and Hector Gonzales (R)
Officer Velasquez remembers the look on Gonzales' face when he contacted him. "He looked bothered by the fact that I was even contacting him."
Velasquez says one of the ways he was able to quickly detain Gonzales was from the help of an innocent bystander.
He says a man in a cowboy hat drove his police cruiser over to where Gonzales had dragged him, enabling him to get into his vehicle and pursue Gonzales.
"He didn't seek any kind of recognition," Swain said. "In fact, we have no idea who that was. He's just an unidentified man in a cowboy hat that saw an officer needing help and just helped him."
Velasquez hopes to thank the man someday.
"I'd love to shake his hand, and thank him for what he did that day."
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Parker County District Attorney's Office, an interview with Hudson Oaks Police Officer Hector Velasquez, and FOX 4 reporting.