CAUGHT RED-HANDED

Texas Sheriff Accused of Taking Cash From Undocumented Immigrants During Traffic Stops

Nathan Johnson acknowledged to the Texas Rangers that his deputies had seized money from immigrants before handing them over to border agents.

A Texas sheriff allegedly had his deputies regularly seize money and other goods from undocumented immigrants during traffic stops, according to search warrants obtained by the Texas Tribune. The subject of the criminal investigation is Sheriff Nathan Johnson of Real County, a rural community near the state’s border. He acknowledged to a Texas Ranger that money was taken from the undocumented immigrants before they were handed over to U.S. Border Patrol officials, even if they were not accused of a crime. A deputy told an investigator that “seizing currency” had been “standard operating procedure for as long as he [had] been employed by the Real County Sheriff’s Office.” Johnson allegedly instructed his deputies to mark the seized money, and in one instance an immigrant’s truck, as “abandoned.” Following a number of raids by the Texas Rangers and agents with the Texas Attorney General’s Office last month, Johnson has been accused of felony-level theft by a public servant and abuse of official capacity. It’s unclear if charges will be brought against Johnson.