Related articles:

Formal charges vs. Border Patrol agent postponed

Other articles by Alexis Huicochea:

Bank-heist, cop-shooting case against man, 38, is up to jurors West Side slaying was not random, investigators say Man slain on W. Side; '08 toll for city hits 73 Life is better along 29th Street Police say fight over cigarettes led to death Tucson's 71st homicide victim identifiedGun, ammo sales spike in TucsonSuspect admits to slaying, court records showTucson man admits stabbing homeless victim, says he felt threatenedMan fatally stabbed at homeless camp

Education
Yavapai College
Teachers General
Prestige Maintenance USA
Area Manager Dental
Apache Dental
Porcelain Techs Health Care
Carondelet Foothills Surgery
Pre-Op Nurse General
GROUNDS CONTROL
LANDCAPE FOREMAN & LABORERS Retail
TOTAL WINE & MORE
WINE TEAM MEMBERS, CASHIER & STOCK MEMEBERS Health Care
Freedom Manor
Caregivers

A Border Patrol agent who was caught on tape stealing marijuana while on duty was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison Wednesday and will have to pay a $30,000 fine.

Michael Carlos Gonzalez, 34, was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense, according to a U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona news release.

The convictions, which came down in March, also resulted in Gonzalez having to serve three years of supervised release once he is out of prison.

The charges stem from an incident Dec. 6, 2005, when an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer pulled over a truck on Arizona 83 near Sonoita.

When the truck stopped, the driver and passenger ran into the desert and the DPS officer gave chase, the release said.

At that time, Gonzalez arrived at the scene in uniform with his duty gun, and was supposed to guard a load of marijuana that was hidden in the bed of the truck, the release said.

However, a dash camera in the DPS officer's patrol car shows Gonzalez backing his patrol car to the front of the truck then walking to the tailgate and removing a bundle of marijuana, which he placed in the trunk of his marked car.

The video also shows Gonzalez rearranging the bundles to fill in the empty space.

When the DPS officer returned, he did not notice that any of the marijuana was missing until he reviewed the tape, the release said.

The bundle, which weighed about 23 pounds, was never recovered. Gonzalez, a Vail resident, resigned from the agency.

"We are well aware that this one incident does not represent the high quality and dedication of the men and woman of the United States Border Patrol," said DPS Director Roger Vanderpool in the news release.