DEMING – A former Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to federal prison and house arrest for obstructing a DEA investigation. Kyle Linker, 33, admitted to tipping off a drug trafficker about a planned raid in 2021.
According to a report by the Albuquerque Journal, U.S. District Judge James Browning on Friday ordered Linker to serve 30 days in federal prison, followed by seven months of house arrest. Linker had pleaded guilty in September to obstruction of justice. His attorney stated that Linker, who resigned from the sheriff’s office in 2022, has no plans to return to law enforcement.
Linker’s alleged accomplice, Paul Jessen Jr., is awaiting trial. Federal authorities say both deputies attempted to shield the trafficker, an informant in their task force.