Former deputy pleads guilty in drug trafficker assistance case

TYLER – A former Smith County deputy pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of unlawful transfer, possession or use of a means of identification. According to our news partner KETK, an arrest warrant says Luis Alberto Sandoval, 29, was arrested in August 2021 and accused of using a secure database to assist a drug trafficker from Mexico. The East Texas Anti-Gang Task Force also launched an investigation into the case that took several months. Sandoval was with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office from November 2017 to August 2021. His sentencing information was not immediately available.