Department of Justice Seal Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2002
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CRM
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

FORMER DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT DRUG INFORMANTS PLEAD GUILTY TO CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS FOR PLANTING FAKE DRUGS


WASHINGTON, D.C.- Two former Dallas Police Department drug informants have pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations related to their role in fabricating and planting counterfeit drugs on numerous individuals in the Dallas area, the Justice Department announced today.

José Ruiz and Roberto Gonzalez, two former drug informants for the Dallas Police Department, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas to conspiring to violate the civil rights of numerous Dallas residents.

The plea agreement outlines that from October 8, 1999, to January 6, 2002, the defendants packaged large quantities of counterfeit drugs, planted the fake drugs near unsuspecting persons and then provided false information to Dallas police officers who subsequently arrested the innocent victims.

The defendants admitted to receiving cash payments from the Dallas Police Department in exchange for their cooperation and based on the quantity of suspected drugs recovered from each arrest.

The victims were then arrested, charged with various drug offenses and incarcerated. The planted substances were later determined to be either crushed billiard chalk packaged to resemble powder cocaine, or a chemical concoction packaged to resemble methamphetamine.

"Through these guilty pleas the defendants have been held to answer for breaching the public trust and preying on scores of innocent citizens," said Assistant Attorney General Ralph F. Boyd Jr. "The Justice Department is committed to prosecuting those who take advantage of their cooperative relationship with law enforcement to illicitly enrich themselves at the expense of innocent members of the community. Such conduct is a serious threat to the legitimacy of our criminal justice system."

Many of the unfortunate victims spent months in jail, falsely accused of drug dealing, before it was discovered that the drugs were fake and the charges against them were dismissed. The drug charges against the victims were later dismissed by the Dallas County District Attorney's Office.

Each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The defendants are currently being held in federal custody on immigration offenses.

In a related matter, a federal grand jury indicted former Dallas Police Department drug informant Enrique Alonso today. The indictment charges Alonso with conspiracy to violate the civil rights of persons arrested by the Dallas Police Department Narcotics Division between October 1999 and January 2002 and with violating the constitutional rights of thirteen individuals arrested in Dallas.

Indictments are formal accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.

In announcing the pleas and the indictment, Assistant Attorney General Ralph F. Boyd Jr. commended the FBI for spearheading the investigation into allegations of misconduct involving the planting of fake narcotics on innocent civilians in the Dallas area. The federal civil rights investigation is ongoing.

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