August 3, 2023 – Fresno County Sheriff’s Office officials report that narcotics detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office have arrested 48-year-old Robert Lopez of Sanger. He was booked on a felony count of smuggling drugs into a jail (Juvenile Justice Campus). He has since been bailed out of the Fresno County Jail.

Lopez is a juvenile correctional officer with the Fresno County Probation Department. The department has placed him on paid administrative leave pending the investigation.

Chief Probation Officer, Kirk Haynes stated, “Our Juvenile Correctional Officers (JCO) are in a critical position of trust and are often the primary adults and even role models with whom our youth interact. The arrest of JCO Robert Lopez for selling, furnishing, or giving away illegal drugs to a person in custody at the Juvenile Justice Campus (Juvenile Hall) reveals unacceptable and abhorrent behavior, especially from someone in a position of authority and trust. Criminal behavior of peace officers in our employ will not be tolerated. Our Probation department will fully cooperate with our fellow Fresno County District Attorney and Sheriff in this investigation and continue to work on procedures to prevent this type of criminal act from occurring in our department.”

Source & photo: Fresno County Sheriff’s Office