Court records reveal new details about alleged drug ring conspiracy involving Bexar County deputy

Cristobal Perez, 35, was charged with engaging in organized criminal activity while incarcerated on a drug possession charge. Cristobal Perez, 35, was charged with engaging in organized criminal activity while incarcerated on a drug possession charge. Photo: Bexar County Jail Photo: Bexar County Jail Image 1 of / 101 Caption Close Court records reveal new details about alleged drug ring conspiracy involving Bexar County deputy 1 / 101 Back to Gallery

The Bexar County detention officer accused of conspiring to collect hundreds of dollars for an incarcerated drug dealer split the money with him and used part of her $500 to buy fireworks for her children, court records show.

Records also show she frequently spoke to the inmate on the phone and professed her love for him.

The deputy, Rita Alvarez, 31, was arrested Wednesday on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and illegal bartering. She remains in the Bexar County Jail on a $50,000 bond. According to Sheriff Javier Salazar, Alvarez is currently on unpaid administrative leave and will probably be terminated in the near future.

RELATED: SAPD: Man attacked two women with machete on North Side, led police on chase

Alvarez was arrested after a months-long investigation into a suspected drug dealing operation allegedly led by Cristobal "Buddha" Perez, 35, who was arrested on April 25 after authorities reportedly found more than 400 grams of black tar heroin and 200 grams of cocaine and hashish at his stash house in the 100 block of Monclova Alley.

According to court records, Perez spoke with Alvarez from jail on a regular basis and she often told him she loved him and would be there for him. During one conversation, Perez requested Alvarez bring him barbacoa tacos.

The two also allegedly coordinated the drug money collections during the phone calls.

On July 1, Alvarez "readily agreed" to collect a $1,000 drug debt owed to Perez by one of his alleged heroin dealers, Roxanne Herrera, according to the affidavit.

Herrera and several other dealers allegedly dealt drugs for Perez. Herrera told police that Perez would front them 20 ounces of heroin, which they would sell for $900 an ounce for a total of $18,000. The dealers would then turn the money over to Perez and keep any extra cash for themselves, according to the affidavit.

Herrera was arrested on April 5 after she was allegedly caught with 400 grams of heroin and $6,000 in cash.

It is unclear how much Herrera owed Perez, but at least two $1,000 payments from Herrera were collected on his behalf following his arrest, authorities said. The payments were reportedly collected from third parties.

Alvarez personally collected one of the payments, according to the affidavit. She used some of her half to buy July 4th fireworks for her kids. The other $500 was deposited to Perez's inmate commissary fund.

RELATED: Sheriff: Detention officer collected drug debts for inmate, had money deposited to commissary fund

The other payment was allegedly collected by Victoria Sepeda, a 33-year-old who has children with Perez, from Herrera's partner, Nancy Landeros, on May 30 at a Dave and Buster's.

Landeros had previously spoken with investigators on April 24 and told them that Herrera said a Bexar County detention officer had spoken with her about the money she owed Perez. Investigators later met with Herrera at the jail, and she identified Alvarez as the detention officer with whom she had spoken.

Also arrested in the investigation were 34-year-old Salvador Robles and 25-year-old Omar Garcia. Court records allege Robles, like Herrera, was a drug dealer for Perez. Investigators recorded multiple phone calls between the two men in which Perez instructs Robles to collect drug debts owed to him. In one such conversation, Perez allegedly told Robles to "hit him in the mouth" if one of his debtors didn't pay up, according to court records.

Garcia, meanwhile, is accused of standing guard over the stash house on Monclova. Garcia lived next door to the stash house, according to court records, and investigators witnessed him making numerous "hand-to-hand transactions" at the gate separating the two lots.

On April 25, the same day Perez was arrested following the raid at his alleged stash house, Garcia gave police consent to search his own home. Inside, they found three shotguns and two handguns, one of which was reported as stolen, records show. He was not arrested after the search, but deputies obtained an arrest warrant for him on Aug. 1 and rounded him up with the other suspects involved in the alleged drug dealing ring.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns