SAN ANTONIO – A former Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputy was arrested for smuggling drugs into the jail while he worked as a detention officer there, according to Sheriff Javier Salazar.
Mario Sepulveda, 21, was taken into custody on Monday and charged with abuse of official capacity between $1,500 and $20,000 and possession of a controlled substance inside a correctional facility, records with the Bexar County Jail show.
An arrest warrant affidavit states that on June 21, a source tipped-off authorities about narcotics entering the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.
The source stated Sepulveda was sneaking drugs into the 2A unit for a male inmate, identified as Jonathan Perez. The drugs were allegedly supplied by the inmate’s girlfriend and they were being purchased via CashApp, the affidavit states.
In the investigation, deputies said they found meth and synthetic marijuana inside a cell. Investigators also discovered that Sepulveda and the inmate’s girlfriend had more than 100 interactions via cell phone.
Perez has since been charged with a prohibited substance inside a correctional facility and drug possession.
The inmate’s girlfriend is on bond for felony drug possession. It’s unclear what charges, if any, she is facing regarding the smuggling.
The affidavit states that investigators interviewed other inmates, and one of them described Sepulveda as “friendly” by letting inmates smoke in front of him and sometimes smoking with them.
Another inmate said Sepulveda sprayed them with a bottle filled with a liquid used to disguise the smoke smell, the affidavit states.
The affidavits did not say if they were smoking cigarettes or an illegal drug.
Salazar said that the deputy was fired on July 18. He was hired in April of 2021.
His bond is set at $55,000, records show.
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