Former Maryland State Trooper sentenced on bribery, drug charges
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — A former Maryland State Trooper was sentenced Thursday to six years in federal prison and three years of supervised release for bribery and drug charges, according to the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland.
Justin Riggs, 35, of Washington County, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute, conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances, use of a communication facility in causing or facilitating the conspiracy to distribute controlled dangerous substances, and travel act-state of Maryland bribery.
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Court documents state that, in December 2022, Riggs served as a Maryland State Trooper tasked with investigating drug and gun trafficking in Western Maryland when he created a fake Facebook account to contact a drug distributor.
According to court documents, Riggs alerted the drug distributor of the investigation, stating that he worked for a federal agency, even initiating several conversations where he tried to sell the informant's identity to the drug distributor.
The USAO states that Riggs sent messages warning the drug distributor of a tracker that had been placed on his truck.
'Theres a big case man. I'm not reaching out because I care what you're in to or not in to. you don't have to play innocent to me. IDC about that. I'm just trying to get paid. But there's a big case that's going on. Im here to work with you. I gave you some free info to prove my worth. Once you find the tracker and see I'm legit then let's talk about the other info I have.'
Court documents continue by stating that even after the drug distributor told Riggs that he wanted to stop participating in drug trafficking, Riggs attempted to get in contact with someone else who was still a part of the trafficking, stating:
'…So listen, if you're getting out or want nothing to do with what I can offer, is there anybody trustworthy in your club that would have interest in my services? Info for money exchange type of thing?'
'I could be willing to give you some more info now for forwarding my services to someone that could use it.'
Riggs followed up with the drug distributor, asking if he had removed the tracker from his truck that he had alerted him to, and once again offered to sell him information regarding the ongoing investigation, stating:
'Did you pull the tracker off? I can help you by telling you how deep the investigation is. How to make it go away, who your snitch is that's setting y'all up, and when your phone will be tapped…'
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According to court documents, Riggs negotiated selling information to the drug distributor during the investigation, where they agreed that Riggs would be paid $1,500 in exchange for the information.
'If you make the 1500 drop, then I'll just give ya the rest of the info and you can make the 300 drop.' Then later, 'Every buy he's done has been recorded. The audio conversations have been recorded. But he plans on testifying on ya…'
The USAO states the drug distributor then picked up the agreed amount to give to Riggs, to which he paid him in a designated location in Western Maryland.
Riggs confirmed that he had received the $1,500 in exchange for the information.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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