TYLER, Texas — A former Smith County Sheriff’s Office deputy was sentenced to three years' probation Wednesday morning for using official information to help someone involved with drug trafficking in Mexico.
Luis Alberto Sandoval, of Tyler, was arrested in August 2021 on a charge of misuse of official information. His charges later became federal offenses, including receipt of a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds and fraud with identification documents.
In February, Sandoval pleaded guilty to unlawful transfer, use, or possession of identification.
During a hearing Wednesday, Sandoval avoided prison time and received three years' probation and a $1,000 fine. Through the plea and sentencing, he also lost his Texas Commission on Law Enforcement license and will never be a police officer again.
Sandoval told the judge he regrets his actions and the past few years have been the most difficult for him. He has become employed as a supervisor for a company in Dallas and has a master's degree in business.
He added that he wants to continue with his life and put his criminal case behind him.
An arrest affidavit states Sandoval admitted criminal associates asked him to conduct driver’s license and arrest warrant checks for them while Sandoval was working in the Smith County Sheriff's Office. His messages in WhatsApp, a text and voice messaging app, showed conversations with an unidentified user with a phone number originating from Mexico.
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" or money for completing the driver’s license and warrant search, the affidavit said.