Bernalillo County deputy pleads guilty, implicates supervisor in DWI corruption case
Feb. 25—A Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputy pleaded guilty Tuesday as the latest law enforcement officer to be federally charged for his role in a sophisticated extortion and bribery scheme to help a local attorney get DWI cases dismissed.
But in this instance, the former deputy contended he had the help of an unidentified sheriff's supervisor, who records show has not yet been charged.
BCSO deputy Jeff Hammerel, 39, pleaded guilty to receiving a bribe, extortion and conspiracy in federal court on Tuesday.
Sheriff John Allen announced Tuesday that Hammerel had resigned before accepting the plea deal.
"The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office holds its deputies to the highest ethical and professional standards. Any violation of the public's trust will not be tolerated," Allen said in a statement. "While this matter is now in the hands of the federal justice system, we remain committed to transparency and accountability."
In the statement, Allen said BCSO would "defer further comment to the appropriate authorities handling the case."
"We are actively reviewing our internal policies and procedures to strengthen oversight and prevent future misconduct," he said.
Allen had placed Hammerel on leave on Jan. 24 after the FBI interviewed him in its investigation into one of the largest public corruption cases in New Mexico history.
Then on Monday, Allen placed BCSO Undersheriff Johann Jareno on leave after he was also recently interviewed by federal agents. Jareno is the highest-ranking law enforcement official to be tied to the case so far.
Hammerel is the first member of BCSO to plead guilty or be charged in the case.
Three Albuquerque Police Department officers and the alleged ringleaders in the scheme, attorney Thomas Clear III and his paralegal Ricardo "Rick" Mendez, have all taken plea deals in the case.
In plea agreements, Clear and Mendez admitted to running an organized operation since 2008 to get DWI cases dismissed by paying off APD, BCSO and State Police personnel.
Federal prosecutors in charging Hammerel on Tuesday went beyond the language of the guilty plea by stating, "To ensure successful operation of the scheme, Mendez contacted persons in authority at BCSO, including a supervisory BCSO deputy, to ensure that participating conspiring officers, including Hammerel, would not get in trouble for failing to appear at required settings."
Prosecutors didn't identify the BCSO supervisor or name any other person in authority at BCSO involved in the scheme.
In his plea agreement, Hammerel said he joined BCSO's DWI unit in 2013 and began coordinating with Mendez, Clear and the unnamed BCSO supervisor in 2017. Hammerel states that the BCSO supervisor "provided me assurances that I would not get in trouble for failing to appear" at court hearings, pre-trial interviews and other trial settings so DWI cases get dropped.
Hammerel said he was paid in cash and "Christmas gifts and gifts in connection with the birth of a child," according to the plea agreement.
The Albuquerque Police Department has placed 12 officers on leave and 10 have since resigned, retired or been fired as the department conducted its own internal probe into the allegations. BCSO has two deputies, including Hammerel, on leave, and State Police has placed Toby LaFave on leave in the case.
The investigation came to light in January 2024 after FBI agents raided the homes of several Albuquerque officers, Mendez's home and Clear's law office.
In the fallout of the investigation, and because the officers' credibility potentially could be questioned, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Sam Bregman's office has dismissed more than 200 DWI cases that were pending at the time of the FBI searches.
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