FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KMJ) — A juvenile corrections officer was arrested Wednesday morning for smuggling drugs in jail.
According to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, Robert Michael Lopez, 48, a resident of Sanger, was taken into custody at home and has been charged with a felony count of drug smuggling.
Lopez, an employee at the Juvenile Justice Center on American Avenue, has been with the county since 2006 and has since bailed out of jail.
He is due in court on August 15 and has been placed on paid administrative leave.
Fresno County Probation Chief Kirk Haynes provided a statement regarding Lopez’s recent arrested and mentioned the following:
“Our Juvenile Correctional Officers (JCO) are in a critical position of trust and are often the primary adults and even role models with whom our youth interact. The arrest of JCO Robert Lopez for selling, furnishing, or giving away illegal drugs to a person in custody at the Juvenile Justice Campus (Juvenile Hall) reveals unacceptable and abhorrent behavior, especially from someone in a position of authority and trust. Criminal behavior of peace officers in our employ will not be tolerated. Our Probation department will fully cooperate with our fellow Fresno County District Attorney and Sheriff in this investigation, and continue to work on procedures to prevent this type of criminal act from occurring in our department.”
