By Clyde Hughes
Authorities arrested a police
chief from a small town in East Texas on Tuesday, along with two residents, in
connection to a methamphetamine ring.
Joseph "Jody"
Navarro, 40, a police chief of Normangee, was taken into federal custody after
he was arrested for allegedly using a law enforcement computer system to aid in
meth trafficking, the Bryan Eagle reported on Thursday.
Navarro was charged with
intentionally exceeding authorized access to a protected computer to run a
background check on a name supplied to him by a suspected meth dealer,
Normangee resident Brenda Antanette Evans, 45. If convicted, Navarro faces up
to five years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Evans and Joshua Troy Thomas,
25, both of Normangee, were charged with one count of possession with intent to
distribute methamphetamine. The complaint alleged that Evans purchased close to
an ounce of meth from Thomas for $1,200.
Thomas was arrested during an
early morning raid at his home, and Navarro was cuffed by law enforcement as he
pulled up to the scene while on duty, KBTX-TV reported.
The Eagle reported Evans surrendered to
authorities at the McLennan County Jail in Waco on Wednesday.
"I've worked (with) and
known Jody for about five or six years now," Normangee Police Sgt. Steve
Milligan told KBTX-TV. "Knowing Jody personally, it was quite a surprise
to me."
Normangee Mayor Ronnie Meadors
told KBTX-TV that Navarro's arrest left the town in shock.
"This is something that we
never expected out of him," Meadors said. "Jody was a good police
officer. Jody knows the laws and he was good at interpreting the laws, but in
the same token, just with him working and knowing the law does not put him
above the law."
Milligan told KBTX-TV he is now
the only officer left on the police force.
"Sure, it’s a lot to take
on," Milligan said. "But it's also being able to start off with a
clean slate with everything. You know? Now there shouldn’t be absolutely any
questions about our integrity."
