NEWS RELEASE
DEPARTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
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LANSING – Thursday, former Hartford police chief Tressa Beltran pleaded guilty to one count each of delivery or possession with the intent to deliver less than 50 grams of a controlled substance, a 20-year felony, and use of a computer to commit a crime, also a 20-year felony, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
The plea deal accompanies a sentencing agreement securing a minimum term of incarceration of 24-40 months to be determined by the court, with a statutory maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment. The sentence for each count will run concurrently.
Beltran was made to permanently surrender her MCOLES law enforcement license ensuring she can never be employed as a police officer in the State of Michigan again.
In a nine-count complaint, the state charged Beltran with selling controlled substances, using her influence to extort others to provide her with controlled substances, illegally possessing several different types of controlled substances, embezzlement, and use of a computer to commit a crime.
Today, Beltran admitted under oath that while she was working as the City of Hartford’s chief law enforcement officer, she possessed controlled substances with the intent to deliver them and that she used a computer to arrange to deliver controlled substances.
Detectives from the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office conducted an extensive investigation into Beltran after receiving numerous tips about her actions. The investigation concluded with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office and the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit discovering evidence that Beltran had used her position as chief of police to commit these numerous offenses.
“I am grateful for the collaborative investigation between the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office and my department that has allowed us to remove a rampant criminal from her position as police chief,” said Nessel. “My office will continue to pursue accountability and public integrity when people in positions of power and public trust abuse their office and harm their communities. Public integrity matters, public health matters, and a drug-dealing police chief cuts deeply against both."
The Honorable Judge Kathleen M. Brickley presided over today’s pretrial conference in the 36th Circuit Court in Paw Paw. Sentencing is scheduled for June 24, 2024.
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