Ex-Detective Avoids Jail in Drug Case

A former police detective who tipped off suspected drug dealers and users has avoided a possible jail sentence in a plea deal with prosecutors that includes probation.

Alfred Velasco, who resigned from the Police Department on Feb. 1, also agreed to a stipulation that he neither work nor volunteer with a law enforcement agency.

Velasco allegedly tipped friends suspected of dealing and using methamphetamine and cocaine that they were being investigated by the department.

He was charged with two misdemeanor counts of interfering with a criminal investigation and five misdemeanor counts of unauthorized computer access, which could have led to a one-year jail sentence.