A St. Paul police officer lauded for her work with gangs is now accused of helping a violent gang member by sending him money in prison.

Officer Ruby G. Diaz, 38, of Lauderdale was charged Friday with aggravated forgery and identity theft.

Diaz, a school resource officer at Humboldt Secondary School, developed a relationship with Ramone Davay Smaller, 21, a former Humboldt student, and used another woman’s personal information to funnel money to Smaller, according to a criminal complaint.

Diaz has been placed on paid administrative leave during the criminal investigation, police said.

She rented a car for Smaller and sent $1,500 to his prison account, according to the complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court.

The complaint did not elaborate on the nature of their relationship, and Police Chief Thomas Smith declined to offer specifics, citing the continuing investigation.

Meanwhile, Smaller, who is serving a six-year sentence for attempted murder at the state prison in St. Cloud, was charged Friday in connection with three shootings of St. Paul residences in October.

The 10 felony charges included assault, drive-by shooting and crimes for the benefit of a gang.

One shooting involved a house on Carroll Avenue occupied by two sisters, ages 69 and 72.

“Those women still have been afraid to go back to their house over seven months after this crime occurred,” Smith said.

Smith said the allegations against Diaz were “disappointing” but said the department “didn’t leave one stone unturned” during its investigation.

Diaz deposited money in Smaller’s account via five $300 Western Union money orders between Feb. 2 and April 25, the complaint said.

Two of the five transactions were traced to Diaz’s school district computer, police said.

The charges allege the following:

Police found that the funds came from a Western Union account in another woman’s name. Diaz created that account using the personal information of a former college classmate.

The classmate told police that Diaz had worked as her personal trainer, but as of April 28, she had not had contact with Diaz for about a month.

She stated “that (Diaz) violated their trust” and that Diaz was never authorized to use her information to send money to Smaller’s account, the complaint said.

Investigators also monitored several phone conversations between Diaz and the imprisoned Smaller in which they discussed how she would get money to him.

Diaz was summoned to appear in court June 27. She was not in custody Friday. No one answered the door at a home listed as her address in the criminal complaint.

Smaller, a member of Gotta Haveit gang, pleaded guilty in December to third-degree murder in the shooting of a man in a dispute over a car. He was sentenced to six years.

One of the shootings he was charged with Friday was the early morning attack Oct. 24 on the home in the 800 block of Carroll Avenue. Police said 20 bullets hit the home.

Neither sister living in the house was hurt. One told police Smaller had a dispute with her grandson and had threatened him, according to the charges.

Smaller, the grandson and another man were kicked out of Augie’s, a Minneapolis nightclub, for fighting a few hours before the shooting, police said.

According to the criminal complaint against Smaller:

The other two shootings were on the city’s West Side — one on Oct. 29 around 2:20 a.m. in the 600 block of Stryker Avenue, the other around 11:20 p.m. the next night near Hall Avenue and Baker Street. The addresses are two blocks apart.

Residents were home in at least one of those incidents, but no one was hurt. Dozens of shell casings were recovered at the scenes.

Two men present at the Stryker Avenue address were confirmed gang members.

On Oct. 31, information from a Minneapolis shooting involving two vehicles led police to Smaller. A gun magazine, and later a hidden gun, were found in the Kia Optima he was driving. Among the men in the other car was the grandson of the Carroll Avenue woman.

Ballistics testing found the shells from all three shootings were fired from the gun found in the Kia Optima, the criminal complaint said.

Further testing found the predominant DNA profile on the gun’s grip matched Smaller, according to the complaint.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said at a Friday news conference that a “petty gang feud” led to a dangerous situation.

“These crimes that are alleged in the complaint had a very enormous negative impact on the sense of safety in our community,” Choi said. “Innocent community members were caught in the crossfire.”

He stressed that the investigation is still ongoing and more charges could be forthcoming.

Choi said he hoped the charges send a strong message to gangs that police and the community will work together to hold people who engage in gun violence accountable.

Diaz and Smaller were at Humboldt, a West Side school now serving grades 6-12, at the same time.

Diaz worked as a school-resource officer there from 2002 to 2005, and again from 2008 until she was put on leave. She was assigned to the police department’s gang unit from 2005 to 2008.

Smaller was a midyear transfer into Humboldt in the 2004-05 school year, and was at the school on and off until 2007, a school district spokeswoman said.

Diaz started working for St. Paul police as a paid intern in 1999, became a community-liaison officer, and then a police officer in 2000.

At the police department, Diaz had two previous complaints filed against her, though her personnel record shows no disciplinary action. She’s received a number of accolades, including a chief’s award, a medal of commendation and 14 thank-you letters.

Just over a year ago, the Cinco de Mayo planning committee honored Diaz for her many hours of volunteer service to the celebration.

In 2008, Diaz and another officer were finalists for St. Paul Police Officer of the Year, with then-Chief John Harrington saying the pair had “kept kids out of gangs and kept bad guys off the streets.”

Her LinkedIn profile said she serves as Northern Vice President for the National Latino Peace Officers Association and a distributor for Advocare health and fitness products. The LinkedIn profile was no longer on the site Friday afternoon.

Tyrone Terrill, president of the St. Paul African-American Leadership Council, decried the violence by Smaller and other gang members. He also said he’s known Diaz for years, and considers her a friend.

“I’m devastated by that,” he said of the accusations against her. “I know Ruby and Ruby’s good people. I don’t understand it. Her career, if these allegations are true, is pretty much done. And she’s done a lot of great community work.”

Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262. Follow her at twitter.com/MaraGottfried. Marino Eccher can be reached at 651-228-5421. Follow him attwitter.com/marinoeccher. Emily Gurnon can be reached at 651-228-5522. Follow her at twitter.com/emilygurnon.