SAN ANTONIO – A probationary deputy with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office was arrested and fired Wednesday after investigators said he forged a county document to try to extend his sick leave by several weeks.
Javier Cruz, 20, faces a misdemeanor charge of tampering with a government record, Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed during a Wednesday afternoon press conference on Zoom.
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Cruz, who had already missed a significant amount of work according to Salazar, is accused of forging paperwork to make his return to work date August 27.
Investigators later determined the return to work date was actually August 7, Salazar said, who added that Cruz confessed to the scheme when confronted about it.
“We could have just fired him and kicked the can down the road, but we’re not going to do that,” said Salazar, when asked about his decision to arrest Cruz instead of simply terminating him.
Salazar said he was also looking into whether BCSO could confiscate Cruz’s pay, since he was being compensated with sick leave even though he had been cleared by a doctor to return to work days ago.
Cruz is the tenth BCSO deputy arrested this year, according to records kept by the KSAT 12 Defenders.
He was taken into custody at the sheriff’s administration office and then walked over to the south tower to be booked, according to Salazar.