MIDLAND, TX (KWES) - A former deputy with the Ector County Sheriff's Office pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to tipping off a game room operator about stings and investigations, in exchange for cash.
Limon's federal complaint said he confessed to taking photos of federal investigators and sending them to a game room owner.
The complaint goes on to say Limon admitted to accepting cash from the owner for years but thought they were "gifts out of generosity."
The complaint said the game room operator, Phong Tran, began paying Limon back in 2010, typically around $200 per payment. Then in 2013, Limon was paid by Tran on three or four occasions. Most of the payments were because Limon told Tran he prevented Tran's game room from being robbed. Limon would even say, "I got your back," which Tran understood to mean that Limon expected a payment.
During the investigation, Tran said Limon warned him of upcoming law enforcement game room raids in 2014 on multiple occasions. During one occasion, Tran actually shut down his game room for a month. Tran said, "I'd pay him to know when I'm going to get raided."
In 2015, Tran paid Limon to investigate and arrest subjects that robbed Tran's game room. According the complaint, at one point in 2015, Limon asked for money from Tran in return for investigating the robbery. During that time, Tran estimated that he paid Limon between $900 and $3,000. Limon also told Tran to never talk to "the cops" about their relationship and to always erase their text messages.
Limon was arrested in June 2016 and resigned just days before.
A date for Limon's sentencing has not been set.
