Officer Paul Cervantes Charged with Stealing Drug Dealers SUV

A judge ruled this afternoon that there was sufficient evidence to order one Fresno police officer to stand trial on a charge of helping an informant steal a suspected drug dealer's SUV, but another officer charged in the case was allowed to go free.

Judge Gary Orozco said in Fresno County Superior Court there was probable cause to believe officer Paul Cervantes helped steal a 2001 Ford Explorer that belonged to Humberto Ortega Quintero, who was arrested Jan. 7, 2008, during a drug bust in Fresno.

But Orozco said there was little evidence to link officer Hector Becerra to the theft.

The judge also ruled that the informant, Jesus Jose Mendoza Valles, should stand trial.


1:38 p.m.: A preliminary hearing began this morning in Fresno County Superior Court for two Fresno police officers and a confidential informant accused of stealing a suspected drug dealer's SUV in January last year.

Randy Royal, an investigator with the California Highway Patrol, testified he interviewed the informant, Jesus Jose Mendoza Valles.

Royal said Valles told him police officers Paul Cervantes and Hector Becerra gave him permission to take an SUV owned by Humberto Ortega Quintero after Quintero was arrested in a drug bust on Jan. 7, 2008.

The next day, Valles went to the Department of Motor Vehicles and registered the SUV in his name, Royal said.

Royal also testified he interviewed Quintero and learned Valles never paid him $5,000 for his 2001 Ford Explorer.

Valles was booked into the downtown jail Dec. 29 on a charge of stealing Quintero's car. Before the two officers were arrested, Royal said, they went to the jail to visit Valles. The officers interviewed Valles for about 20 minutes, Royal testified.

What was discussed has not yet been disclosed in Judge Gary Orozco's courtroom.

Before the lunch break, another witness, Fresno Sgt. Walter Boston, said he received a tip from Cervantes after the officer was arrested. The tip led him to a female confidential informant who works for the Fresno Police Department. Cervantes told Boston that Valles told the woman he felt pressured by the CHP and Fresno police detective Brad Alcorn to "give up the officers."

Cervantes, 32, Becerra, 34, and Valles, 45, each face a charge of felony auto theft.

The preliminary hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to order the three men to stand trial. The hearing resumes after the lunch break.