Plano Police Detective Frank Dockery Resigns After Being Arrested In Drug Trafficking Investigation
PLANO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Plano Police Detective Frank Eric Dockery, 45, resigned following his arrest on Wednesday as part of a drug trafficking investigation.
Dockery was a 20-year veteran of the Plano Police Department.
He is currently in the Denton County Jail.
He resigned as indictments were unsealed naming him a co-conspirator along with nine other people in a narcotics transaction that led to an overdose death.
Federal authorities say the ten suspects were all tied to a narcotics ring dealing fentanyl, Xanax, Oxycodone and cocaine among other drugs.
The investigation began after a 29-year-old man died inside his Fairview apartment last December after taking fentanyl.
The DEA led raids on homes in the Park Cities and other North Texas neighborhoods this week, arresting ten people now facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Regarding Dockery, the city of Plano released the following statement Friday:
On Wednesday, October 30, 2019, the Plano Police Department was made aware of an arrest of one of its employees. Immediately after learning of this arrest, the employee was placed on administrative leave and an internal investigation was initiated by the Professional Standards Unit. This employee has since resigned from the department. Any information related to this investigation will be released by the United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Texas.
It's unclear what role the former Plano Police detective, who also operated a private gun training school, had in the drug enterprise that authorities say began in 2014.
Dallas criminal law attorney Chris Lewis has experience with drug cases and says even those who played a small role in an overdose death can find themselves in deep legal trouble.
"The role can extremely minor," said Lewis. "You can have somebody that drove the vehicle. You can have somebody that went and made a deposit, so in sentencing guidelines the charging instrument, the indictment doesn't really count for that, but once you get to sentencing, there are considerations given for people who had lesser roles, minor roles."
