WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man was sentenced to two years of probation for helping a former police officer try to bribe a witness. Forty-year-old Patrick Melendrez was sentenced Monday for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He admitted that he helped former police officer Joletta Vallejo in the bribery scheme to help Vallejo keep her job.
Prosecutors say Vallejo didn't properly report alleged crimes against two people. During a police department investigation, Vallejo and Melendrez tried to bribe a witness to recant his statements to the department's professional standards bureau. Instead, the witness cooperated with an undercover investigation into the bribery attempt.Vallejo is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 2.