CONVICTED EX-COP SAYS COCAINE SALE PART OF JOB

A former South Texas narcotics investigator, described by authorities as so
strapped for cash that he pawned his gun, was convicted Thursday of trying
to sell cocaine to raise money to retrieve his pistol.

Until his indictment in January, Xavier Villarreal was affiliated with the
Live Oak County Sheriff's Department and assigned to the Central South
Texas Narcotics Task Force based in George West.

Convicted of possessing and intending to distribute cocaine, a charge that
carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines,
the 52-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 16.

During the trial, which lasted about three days, prosecutors put on
testimony suggesting Villarreal, in his desperation for money, suggested
selling cocaine to Pearsall bondsman Lupe Morales, who worked as a
task-force informant.

Unbeknownst to Villarreal, Morales went to the FBI, which outfitted him
with a hidden microphone and gave him the code name Frosty Root Beer.

The result was Villarreal was accused of twice selling cocaine to Morales
and receiving in return a total of about $3,000, court documents indicate.

Villarreal's attorney, Richard D. Woods, depicted the case as a big
mistake. The lawyer asserted that, until his arrest, Villarreal had been
building a case against the informant, whom he suspected of peddling drugs.

Prosecutors Ray and Leroy Jahn chiseled away at that defense, noting
Villarreal had little to document his investigation. The money he received
for the drugs never went to the task force, nor were receipts submitted.

By contrast, the FBI produced recorded conversations between Villarreal and
Morales as well as receipts for the $3,000 signed by "Frosty Root Beer."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Jahn conceded it was possible Villarreal set
out to do a legitimate investigation.

"But he passed a line at one point and became a crooked cop," Jahn said.
"When? The first time he took money from Lupe Morales and put it in his
pocket."

Jurors deliberated about 90 minutes before finding Villarreal guilty.

Afterward, as he left the court, the former law officer insisted he had
only been doing his job when he sold the drugs.

"I'm an undercover agent," he said. "What they convicted me for here, I've
done hundreds of times."