April 14, 2015

Former Dallas County Probation Employee Pleads Guilty to Role in Cocaine Distribution Conspiracy

DALLAS—A Dallas woman, who worked for the Dallas County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, pleaded guilty in federal court today to a drug distribution conspiracy offense, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Selena Ball, 30, of DeSoto, Texas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney to one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance (cocaine). She faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine, and she will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for July 30, 2015.

Ball and 10 co-defendants were charged in a November 2014 indictment with various felony offenses, including conspiracy, drug trafficking, kidnapping, firearms offenses, witness intimidation/tampering, and records destruction, stemming from their involvement in a violent drug trafficking operation (DTO) that operated in South Dallas and the Dallas County Jail.

According to documents filed in her case, from September 23, 2013, to May 27, 2014, Ball was an Electronic Monitoring Officer for the Dallas County Community Supervision and Corrections Department. As part of her duties, she was assigned to monitor an inmate, co-defendant Patrick D. Lenard, 33.

Ball and Lenard were involved in a romantic relationship despite her position and despite the conflict this relationship created. Lenard convinced Ball to alter, modify or fail to report violations of his conditions of release. For example, Lenard was required to limit his travel to certain areas within Dallas to avoid contact with co-conspirators. Part of Ball’s responsibility was to review and identify locations Lenard visited as reflected in the GPS records from his monitoring bracelet. Ball, however, failed to report violations of these conditions by Lenard. In fact, Lenard violated his conditions of release by approaching, confronting and attempting to intimidate coconspirators and witnesses to a kidnaping.

From November 26, 2012, to approximately November 18, 2014, Lenard conducted and managed drug-trafficking activities form his jail cell in the Dallas County Jail. During that time, he called his co-conspirators, including Ball. On multiple occasions, Lenard and Ball had phone conversations regarding illegal narcotics transactions and money obtained from those transactions. Lenard instructed Ball to hide the drug proceeds, and in one conversation, Ball actively counted the drug proceeds. On some of the phone calls, other individuals were conferenced in and Lenard, Ball and the other individual would discuss illegal naracotics transactions and money obtained from those transactions.

Lenard, and another one of his girlfriends, Lashundra Rogers, 35, of Mesquite, Texas, are set for trial on July 13, 2015.

Other defendants charged in the conspiracy, including Juaquai Gregg, Joshua Smart, Shuntocqua Shine, Brandon Florence, a/k/a “Beetlejuice,” Christina Staton, Rory Minafee and Bonner Ray Tutson have pleaded guilty to their respective roles and are awaiting sentencing.

Another defendant, Rodney Wynn, 34, of Kaufman, Texas, was added to the State of Texas’s most wanted list in September 2014 and remains a fugitive.

The investigation is being led by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the Dallas Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Errin Martin and P. J. Meitl are prosecuting.