| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 23, 2014 |
In Waco this afternoon, former Normangee Police Chief Joseph Ray “Jody” Navarro pleaded guilty to unlawfully obtaining information from a law enforcement computer system, announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman.
Appearing before United States District Judge Walter S. Smith, the 41-year-old Madisonville, Texas resident pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally exceeding authorized access to a protected computer. By pleading guilty, Navarro admitted that in May 2013, he ran a background check on a license plate and name supplied to him by suspected methamphetamine trafficker and Normangee resident Brenda Antanette Evans, age 45. As a condition of his guilty plea, Navarro must relinquish his Texas peace officer’s license.
Should the court accept Navarro’s guilty plea, Navarro faces up to one year in federal prison and a maximum $100,000 fine at sentencing scheduled for March 19, 2014.
Previously, Evans and co-defendant 25-year-old Joshua Troy Thomas of Normangee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court records, on April 26, 2013, during an undercover investigation, Evans purchased close to one ounce of methamphetamine from Thomas on behalf of an undercover agent for approximately $1,200. Earlier this month, Judge Smith sentenced Evans to five years in federal prison. Thomas, who faces up to 20 years in federal prison, is scheduled to be sentenced on February 12, 2014.
This investigation was conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Mary Kucera is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
Appearing before United States District Judge Walter S. Smith, the 41-year-old Madisonville, Texas resident pleaded guilty to one count of intentionally exceeding authorized access to a protected computer. By pleading guilty, Navarro admitted that in May 2013, he ran a background check on a license plate and name supplied to him by suspected methamphetamine trafficker and Normangee resident Brenda Antanette Evans, age 45. As a condition of his guilty plea, Navarro must relinquish his Texas peace officer’s license.
Should the court accept Navarro’s guilty plea, Navarro faces up to one year in federal prison and a maximum $100,000 fine at sentencing scheduled for March 19, 2014.
Previously, Evans and co-defendant 25-year-old Joshua Troy Thomas of Normangee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court records, on April 26, 2013, during an undercover investigation, Evans purchased close to one ounce of methamphetamine from Thomas on behalf of an undercover agent for approximately $1,200. Earlier this month, Judge Smith sentenced Evans to five years in federal prison. Thomas, who faces up to 20 years in federal prison, is scheduled to be sentenced on February 12, 2014.
This investigation was conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Mary Kucera is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.