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Former Alabama police officer admits drug smuggling

A former Alabama police officer has pleaded guilty in connection with a plot to plant drugs on innocent motorists in order to arrange arrests on drug charges, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

Michael Kilgore, 40, of Centre, Alabama, was charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, specifically methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama. Court records obtained by USA TODAY show Kilgore signed a plea agreement and admitted to knowingly conspiring with at least one other known person.

Kilgore, who began working as a police officer with the Centre Police Department in 2022, began his scheme in early January 2023, according to the agreement, when he stopped a vehicle and found various drugs. He then offered the driver, whose name was not disclosed in court records, the opportunity to avoid drug charges by working for him.

“The driver accepted and became a co-conspirator in Kilgore's drug smuggling scheme,” the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

Kilgore was arrested and fired from the department in May 2023, according to a statement from the Centre Police Department. The U.S. Attorney's Office said a district court will set a date for Kilgore to enter a guilty plea.

The federal charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine. Prosecutors said in their sentencing recommendation that Kilgore's acceptance of personal responsibility and his intention to plead guilty would be taken into account.

Former Alabama police officer conducted mock traffic stops

According to the agreement, approximately one week after the unnamed driver accepted Kilgore's offer and became his co-conspirator, Kilgore contacted the driver and informed him that he wanted to file a case involving methamphetamine.

The co-conspirator suggested a female victim and told Kilgore he would place the narcotics in the victim's vehicle, the agreement states. The narcotics included marijuana “so that Kilgore would have probable cause to search the victim's vehicle due to the odor of marijuana,” the agreement states.

Kilgore and his co-conspirator then had a package containing methamphetamine, oxycodone and marijuana attached to the chassis of a vehicle, prosecutors said.

On January 31, 2023, according to prosecutors, Kilgore “conducted a mock traffic stop of the vehicle and 'discovered' the drug package where he knew it had been placed.” Kilgore had stopped the driver of the vehicle, who was accompanied by a female passenger, for an alleged traffic violation and arrested the two victims for drug possession, the agreement states.

Kilgore and his accomplice later planned to repeat the plan in another vehicle, prosecutors said. But after purchasing the drugs, Kilgore's accomplice disposed of the narcotics and reported the plan to an acquaintance at the police station, according to the agreement.

At the time of Kilgore's arrest, the Centre Police Department said that after receiving the allegation, Detective Randy Mayorga began an investigation and found evidence to support the allegation, resulting in warrants being obtained for criminal conspiracy to traffic in controlled substances.

“We are extremely disappointed in Kilgore's actions,” Centre Police Chief Kirk Blankenship said in a statement at the time. “There is no excuse for an officer to violate the law in this manner.”

After Kilgore's arrest, the driver who was the target of the plot sued Kilgore for wrongful arrest, AL.com reported in October 2023. The driver said Kilgore planted drugs in his vehicle and used a police dog from another department to find the narcotics.

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