Former Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to Five Years in Prison

TUCSON, AZ—On March 7, 2013, former Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy Francisco Jimenez, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to five years in prison for conspiring to commit offenses against the United States, namely, theft of government money and attempted possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. In addition, Jimenez was ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison and to pay $12,000 in restitution to the government.

Jimenez pleaded guilty on June 25, 2012, to count one of a superseding indictment charging conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States. The superseding indictment, which also charged four other defendants, alleged eight offenses involving corruption within law enforcement. The charged offenses stemmed from multiple undercover scenarios involving the defendants’ use, or the attempted use, of law enforcement officers to steal or protect drug loads and to steal money purportedly belonging to drug trafficking organizations.

Two undercover scenarios leading to charges in the superseding indictment involved the theft of government money from the glove compartment of a vehicle during traffic stops conducted by defendant Jimenez, who was then a Pima County Sheriff’s deputy. On June 26, 2010, and then again on October 8, 2010, Jimenez performed a traffic stop on a vehicle which purportedly contained drug proceeds, searched the vehicle, and stole $4,000 from the glove compartment of the vehicle.

A third undercover scenario involved the purported theft of marijuana and drug money from a storage facility in Green Valley, Arizona. On November 24, 2010, Jimenez drove his patrol car near the storage facility to provide security while co-conspirators broke into a storage unit to steal marijuana and drug proceeds that were supposedly in the storage unit.

Co-defendant Miguel Arvizu, a former Pima County Sheriff’s deputy at the time of the charged offenses, was sentenced on July 10, 2012, to five years’ imprisonment for his role in arranging and participating in the offenses, as well as recruiting Jimenez and other co-defendants into the conspiracy. Arvizu was also ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison and to pay $31,000 in restitution to the government.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Eric Markovich and Gordon Davenport, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Tucson.