TYLER, Texas — A former Smith County Sheriff’s Office deputy has pleaded guilty to a federal charge in connection with using official information to help someone connected to drug trafficking in Mexico.
Luis Alberto Sandoval, of Tyler, was arrested on Aug. 11, 2021 on a charge of misuse of official information and released from the Smith County Jail the next day on $250,000 bond.
In federal court, Sandoval entered a guilty plea to unlawful transfer, use, or possession of identification on Wednesday, according to federal court officials. A sentencing hearing has not been set yet.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Sandoval admitted criminal associates asked him to conduct driver’s license and arrest warrant checks for them.
A search of his phone showed messages in WhatsApp, a text and voice messaging app, to an unidentified user with a phone number originating from Mexico.
Police said investigators found messages in Spanish that showed the unknown person requesting Sandoval to use law enforcement technology to see if a person had any arrest warrants, according to the affidavit.
One message from the unknown phone number asked Sandoval to see if a friend, who was crossing the border with drugs, had any arrest warrants. The person with the Mexico phone number sent several messages asking Sandoval to get the information, the affidavit stated.
Sandoval later texted the number saying he ran the name in the search system and found no warrants connected to the name. The investigator requested an offline search through the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunication System to determine that Sandoval used his credentials to access the system, the affidavit read.
The telecommunication system gives access to the Texas Crime Information Center to find arrest warrants and criminal history.
Sandoval also was told through WhatsApp that he would receive a “deposit,” which appeared to mean monetary payment, for completing the driver’s license and warrant search, the affidavit said.