A former Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputy has been convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice, two counts of obstruction of justice, and one count of making a false statement. Paul Jessen, 36, was found guilty of these charges after evidence presented at trial revealed that he and another BCSO detective, Kyle Linker, had recruited a drug trafficker to work as a confidential informant in July 2021.
Text messages between the two men showed that they harbored personal animus against the DEA in Albuquerque because they believed the DEA was stealing their targets. Jessen was interviewed by an FBI special agent in January 2022, during which he made a false statement when he denied personal knowledge of anything inappropriate between Linker and the confidential informant.
Consequences
Jessen is facing up to 65 years in federal prison. His sentencing date has not yet been set.
Original reporting: KOAT Albuquerque — read the source article.
