MD State Trooper Leaked Information To Suspect For Cash: Reports

HAGERSTOWN, MD — A Maryland state trooper is facing federal charges after authorities said he leaked information to a suspect in exchange for money, according to multiple reports citing court documents.

Justin Ernest Riggs, 33, is charged with conspiracy to distribute drugs, use of interstate facilities to commit bribery, and using a communication facility to commit a drug felony, according to an affidavit obtained by The Herald-Mail that was filed Monday.

Riggs faces up to 29 years in prison if convicted of all three charges.

Court documents accuse Riggs, a 10-year veteran of the agency, of sharing investigative details with a suspect identified only as "Drug Distributor 1," according to the Baltimore Sun. This included false plans about a wiretap devised by investigators to capture the person leaking information.

According to the affidavit obtained by the Sun, Riggs is accused of picking up $1,800 from behind the dumpsters of a Red Roof Inn about six miles from the Hagerstown barracks where he works.

The affidavit claims Riggs may have sold information because he was in debt, WUSA reported. When investigators ran a credit check, they found Riggs had five maxed-out credit cards with balances totaling more than $34,000. Additionally, Riggs also owed $67,000 for his vehicle and student loans.

A spokesperson for Maryland State Police told the Sun that Riggs is a corporal and has been suspended without pay due to his arrest on federal charges. State police have also launched an internal investigation.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Friday.