Former Hartford Police Chief Tressa Beltran, who is accused of selling prescription drugs from a drug collection box, turned herself into police custody Wednesday.
Beltran is facing eight felony counts and one misdemeanor, which includes possession and delivery of a controlled substance, embezzlement, and larceny in a building, according to her felony warrant.
The charges, according to the Michigan Department of Attorney General, include:
- Delivery or possession with the intent to deliver less than 50 grams of a controlled substance;
- Using a computer to commit a crime;
- Extortion;
- Embezzlement by a public official over $50 in value;
- Misconduct in office;
- Larceny in a building;
- Possession of less than 25 grams of a controlled substance;
- Possession of a controlled substance/analogues;
- Possession of a Schedule 5 controlled substance.
Charges are related to offenses dating between May 30, 2017, through June 30, 2022, according to the felony warrant.
A judge set a $100,000 cash surety bond in court Wednesday.
“The majority of Michigan law enforcement officers perform their duties with integrity and with the knowledge that they are not above the law,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said. “Members of law enforcement are expected to follow the law and not use their positions for illegal purposes. The Public Integrity Unit of my office is committed to holding accountable officers who misuse the public’s trust and we will continue to investigate and prosecute such cases.”
Beltran stepped down from role as chief in January.
An investigation began when Van Buren County Sheriff's Office Narcotics unit received an anonymous tip of possible narcotics use and sales at the Hartford Police Department involving Beltran, according to the affidavit for a search warrant.
Judge Michael McKay authorized a search warrant for deputies to seize Beltran's cell phones and other electronics kept at the Hartford Police Department June 30, according to a copy of the search warrant.
"We located inside Tressa’s purse more pills that she ended up confessing were hers and that they were prescribed to her," Lucas Keene, Van Buren County Sheriff's Office Detective, said during Tuesday's probable cause hearing.
Investigators also seized Beltran's phone and found the name of a man she allegedly bought pills from and sold pills to, Keene said.
"We did a search warrant on her phones and in there we found a phone number that led to Hai Quoc Le and in some of the text messages there she was asking for quote puppies, which we found later to be pills," Keene said.
Le confessed to selling drugs to Beltran while she was chief, sometimes on the job and in uniform, Keene said.
"[ She told him] she would make things bad for him if he didn’t sell the pills to her. And being that he was on parole, she also told him that she would contact his parole officer if he said anything.
Don Sappanos, Beltran's attorney, said she has let the community down, and alluded to an addiction problem he said she addressed prior to the charges.
"She went through treatment and if there was a problem, it's under control," Sappanos said.
Beltran allegedly stole from a drug disposal box at Hartford Police Department, according to Van Buren County Sheriff's Office.
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Hartford Police Department participates in the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office Red Med Box program, which collects about 2,000 pounds of unused medicine every year, investigators said.
On June 24, 2022, the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Team dropped off 10 bottles of a controlled substance in the Hartford Police Department Red Med Box.
Two of the bottles contained Hydrocodone, and had a black dot in both the cap and the bottle itself, investigators said.
Beltran was the only member of the Hartford Police Department staff with a key to the Red Med Box, according to investigators.
On June 29, investigators went back to Hartford Police Department to request the medication for destruction, as the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office is responsible for destroying the drugs collected at the Red Med Boxes.
However, Beltran asked that they come back the next day, saying that she cleaned out the container and took the medication into evidence, court documents revealed.
She then told the two members of the narcotics team that she needed 15 minutes, and asked them to come back, according to court records.
Detectives watched Beltran get into her car, drive away, and return with a large, gray garbage bag filled with prescriptions, court records showed.
One investigator then noticed that the bag was torn open and not secured like the bag placed in the Red Med Box, according to court records.
A bottle dropped off with 17 Hydrocodone pills was returned with four pills missing, and a second bottle with 20 pills was returned empty, investigators said.
Beltran was accused of stealing and selling painkillers from a police collection box designed to take drugs off the streets, according to unsealed court documents.
She went on paid leave June 30, 2022, according to Hartford City Manager Yemi Akinwale.
Beltran had been with Hartford Police as an officer since 1989. She had been named Police Chief in 2016.