Detention officer facing embezzlement charges

A Roosevelt County detention officer is facing petty misdemeanor embezzlement charges, accused of stealing prescription drugs from an inmate.

Carolina Gonzalez, 27, of Clovis, is the second detention officer this year to be accused of stealing drugs from inmates.

Detention center Administrator David Casanova said Gonzalez stole the pills the night of Oct. 19, when she was the officer in charge of inmate medication. The next shift noticed the missing pills through inventory procedures, Casanova said, and notified the sheriff’s office Oct. 20.

According to a press release from the sheriff, an investigation uncovered surveillance camera footage showing the employee pouring a large amount of the medication into her hands and putting it in her pockets.

Gonzalez confessed to taking the medication for her own use, according to the release.

Gonzalez was booked into the detention center Friday and released on a $2,000 appearance bond.

She could not be reached for comment.

Another detention officer, Larry Martinez, was charged in January with stealing an anti-anxiety prescription drug and giving it to his wife. At the time, Casanova said he didn’t know how Martinez got the medicine because the theft happened before he was in charge of the detention center.

According to online court records, Martinez pleaded guilty to charges of trafficking a controlled substance.