41-year-old Fernando Leonel Chacon Jr. of Eagle Pass faces charges in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Chacon in San Antonio on Thursday, October 28, according to a press statement by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
According to the indictment, which was filed on Wednesday, October 27, Chacon was a deputy in the Maverick County Sheriff’s Department from November 1, 2014, until October 1, 2021.
Chacon is charged with two counts of wire fraud in the grand jury’s indictment, for which he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in federal prison on each count. The charging documents allege that the scheme took place from January 1, 2015, until his last day in the sheriff’s office.
While the indictment does not name the person from whom Chacon is accused of accepting bribes, it does suggest that the individual was a confidential human source who was a taxpayer and had business in Maverick County.
In pursuit of the criminal enterprise, Chacon is accused of meeting with the informant in various locations to accept payments in exchange for removing tickets, criminal warrants, and criminal cases from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
The charging documents name a $2,000 payment on December 18, 2020, and a $500 payment on January 12, 2021, but the bribes were not limited to those two payments.
The Texas Rangers and the Eagle Pass Police Department are assisting federal law enforcement in the investigation and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Kam, according to the DOJ.
A copy of the indictment can be found below.
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Hayden Sparks
Hayden Sparks is a senior reporter for The Texan and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. He has coached competitive speech and debate and has been involved in politics since a young age. One of Hayden's favorite quotes is by Sam Houston: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."
