SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputy was arrested Wednesday on suspicion that she collected drug debts for a jail inmate, Sheriff Javier Salazar said.
Rita Alvarez, a detention officer, was charged with engaging in criminal activity and illegal barter, expenditures or investments.
Salazar said Alvarez, who was assigned to the Bexar County Adult Detention Center Annex, collected money for Christobal Perez, a jail inmate. Alvarez made sure the money went into Perez's jail commissary account, Salazar said.
The arrest was made following a federal investigation, Salazar said.
The sheriff said his agency and the San Antonio Police Department knew about Alvarez's alleged actions, but waited until the feds finished their probe.
"That was our main concern, is jeopardizing another agency's investigation," Salazar said. "So now that we're free to do that and start digging, we will be digging. And at this point, I don't have any direct indication that there's anybody else involved. We will find out if that's the case."
Salazar said he didn't know the relationship between Alvarez and Perez, who is believed to have ties to organized crime.
Alvarez has been with the Sheriff's Office for 11 years.
She is on unpaid administrative leave and will likely be terminated, Salazar said.