SAN ANTONIO — A former deputy within the Bexar County Sheriff's Office was one of three suspects indicted on charges connected to an alleged smuggling scheme inside the Bexar County Detention Center.
Thomas Lucero, 29, faces a third-degree charge. Another suspect, Gabriel Moreno, is an inmate currently housed at the Texas Department of Corrections and is being brought back to San Antonio. The third suspect, Maricela Leija, a former nurse with University Health System, has not been apprehended. Sheriff Javier Salazar said law enforcement is actively searching for her.
Indictments allege that Lucero and Leija collaborated in providing a cellphone to Moreno in jail.
The sheriff said internal investigators within his office suspected criminal activity on Lucero's part in April 2020. He was brought in for questioning on April 22, during which he admitted to his role in the apparent smuggling scheme, Salazar said.
Lucero reportedly told investigators that cell phones and possibly drugs were being brought into the jail. He was then placed on administrative leave without pay that day, and a proposal for his dismissal was filed on April 23. Lucero was terminated in October, having worked inside BCSO since November 2013.
The three suspects were indicted by a grand jury Monday. Lucero was then arrested and brought in for more questioning.
The sheriff said Moreno was being held at the jail during a murder trial. He was acquitted of the charge during the trial, but while in the detention center, authorities found an improvised weapon in his possession. He is currently serving a sentence related to those charges.
Anyone with information on Leija's whereabouts is urged to contact BCSO at 210-335-6000.