By Daniel Borunda
El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas — An El Paso police officer could be fired after he and a woman were arrested for allegedly having a small amount of marijuana.
Officer Robert Barragan and Crystal Robles, both 32, were arrested Monday evening after detectives allegedly found 2 grams of marijuana in their home on La Cuesta Drive on the far East Side, officials said.
Both are accused of possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana, a misdemeanor.
Barragan was off duty.
Detective Mike Baranyay, a police spokesman, said the arrests were made after a tip launched an investigation by the Narcotics Unit and the Special Investigations Group, which deals with crimes by police.
Chief Greg Allen started the process to fire Barragan, a patrol officer at the Central Regional Command who has been with the department for eight years. A meeting is set for April 11.
“Even though it’s a small amount of marijuana, I will not have officers on the Police Department that are using illegal drugs,” Allen said.
Barragan is the fifth El Paso police officer arrested by the department since October.
Copyright 2011 El Paso Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper