Federal Grand Jury Indicts Former Police Officer On Drug Charges

In Midland today, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging 38-year-old former Odessa Police officer Jackie Lynn Thompson and five other Odessa, Texas, residents in connection with a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Joseph D. Arabit, El Paso Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Mark Morgan, El Paso Division and Midland Police Chief Price Robinson.

The indictment charges Thompson, as well as 36–year-old Jesse Ubaldo Rodriguez, 24-year-old Isai Ramirez,  45-year-old Jaime Yrvegas Castillo, 26-year-old Douglas James Lewis and 48–year-old Ernest Lee McCarty, with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  Upon conviction, each defendant faces a mandatory ten years up to life in federal prison.

The indictment alleges that from January 2012 until January 2013, the six defendants conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine.  All of the defendants are in federal custody.

This indictment resulted from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Midland Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Texas Department of Public Safety in Midland.  Assistant United States Attorney Brandi Young is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.

An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.