BAIL IS DENIED FOR POLICE INFORMANT IN DRUG BUSTS

Man Was Deported To Mexico, Then Detained After Return To Dallas

A federal judge denied bail Monday for an undocumented immigrant who worked
as a paid police informant in a series of questionable drug busts by Dallas
police.

Jose Guadalupe Ruiz, 33, has been in custody since Feb. 28 for returning to
Dallas after he was deported to Mexico. He was ordered deported for not
showing up at a 1999 hearing for unlawfully carrying a weapon.

Mr. Ruiz had lived undetected in Dallas and even worked on the police
payroll as an informant during that time, according to court documents.

He was deported Feb. 12 after FBI agents questioned him about his
involvement in a series of major drug busts. Lab tests later showed the
evidence contained no illicit substances or only trace amounts.

Background Coverage of the ongoing investigation from The Dallas Morning
News and WFAA.

Sometime after his deportation, Mr. Ruiz returned to Dallas and was
apprehended on Feb. 28. His attorney, William Nellis, said Mr. Ruiz has
cooperated with investigators and returned because his wife and children
live here. Mr. Nellis said he would appeal the judge's ruling, saying that
the order is excessive and unusual for a common violation.

Because Mr. Ruiz returned to Dallas despite being involved in a federal
investigation, Mr. Nellis said, that shows he's not a flight risk and
should be allowed to post bail pending a hearing on the matter. "If the
government is correct in what it's saying, he's a return risk, not a flight
risk," he said.

Federal authorities were able to keep another key informant, Enrique
Martinez Alonso, in custody by filing new charges. He was charged with
Social Security fraud soon after Mr. Ruiz was deported to Mexico.

More than 80 cases have been dismissed while the FBI investigation
continues, and two Dallas narcotics officers linked to many of the cases
are on administrative leave with pay.

The two officers, Senior Cpl. Mark Delapaz and Officer Eddie Herrera,
arrested Mr. Ruiz and Mr. Alonso in July 1999 for drug possession.

Mr. Ruiz and Mr. Alonso later reached separate agreements with police and
prosecutors to work as informants in exchange for having their felony drug
charges dismissed. Court records show that both men continued to work with
narcotics officers in exchange for cash payments after completing the
original plea bargain agreements.