PAYNE SPRINGS, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video aired on March 10, 2023.
A former East Texas police officer pleaded guilty Monday to his involvement in accusations of using an informant to sell and purchase methamphetamines.
Former Payne Springs Police Department officer Jonathan Hutchison, 41, of Mabank, was arrested in March 2023 along with former Payne Springs Chief of Police April Meadows on manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and money laundering charges.
An arrest affidavit alleged that Meadows and Hutchison used a confidential informant to create a meth dealing operation while also using the Payne Springs Police Department mailbox as a drop-off location for the drugs. This informant was told to make about 20 to 30 narcotics purchases under the officers' direction. Meadows and Hutchison also marked some of the bags of meth as "evidence," the document read.
On Monday, Hutchison pleaded guilty to tampering with electronic monitoring device, manufacture or delivery of controlled substance between 4 and 200 grams and possession of a controlled substance under a gram, according to judicial records.
Records show he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. The defense asked for deferred probation. The judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation, but a sentencing hearing has not been set yet. Any punishments that Hutchison receives will be served at the same time.
Meadows' trial is currently set for June 24 in the 392nd District Court.