The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced today that two Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies are facing federal prosecution after allegedly tipping off a drug trafficker about a pending DEA raid in New Mexico.
Deputy Kyle Linker, 33, has pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice in U.S. District Court. according to the DEA.
His colleague, Deputy Paul Jessen Jr., 34, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. Jessen has not yet entered a plea and faces up to 70 years in federal prison if convicted on all counts, the DEA says.
According to court documents, Linker and Jessen allegedly warned a drug trafficker, whom they had previously recruited as a confidential informant, about a DEA operation near his home in Los Ranchos, New Mexico.
This warning allowed the trafficker to cancel a drug transaction, obstructing the DEA’s efforts to gather evidence.
“Every day, the men and women of the DEA work with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to bring drug dealers to justice,” said Towanda R. Thorne-James, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s El Paso Field Division. “Mr. Linker chose to partner with the drug dealers instead, and now he too will face the consequences.”