Some charges filed by Raleigh officer facing federal drug charges dismissed

Some of the charges filed by Raleigh police officer Keven Rodriguez, who is facing federal drug charges, have been dismissed.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said charges against six people have been dismissed so far, and the District Attorney's office is continuing to review about two dozen other cases.

Freeman said most of the dismissed charges are low-level misdemeanors, for now.

“I think anytime a law enforcement officer is charged criminally, there’s a breach of public trust. It is always a bad scene in the criminal justice system we do have that happen,” said Freeman. “Fortunately, it doesn’t happen often. In this particular case, the types of charges we are not going to move forward with are more minor misdemeanor charges [and] low-level felonies – no violent felonies.”

Freeman said if her officer was looking at more serious, violent charges, that would be cause for concern from a public safety standpoint. But so far, none of the cases rise to that level.

Rodriguez, a 23-year-old field operations division officer, was charged last month with distribution of cocaine and possession of a firearm. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Raleigh police launched an investigation after receiving anonymous complaints in the fall of 2021 about the officer involving the distribution of controlled substances.

As part of the investigation, a confidential source agreed to meet Rodriguez on Jan. 24 at an abandoned car dealership along Capital Boulevard in Raleigh. The informant gave the officer $2,600 in cash and Rodriguez gave him a substance in return, the criminal complaint said.

Federal authorities allege the drug exchange happened while the officer was on duty, in uniform, driving in his patrol car and with his service weapon.

Investigators watched the drug deal go down via surveillance audio and video device worn by the informant, according to the criminal complaint.

The case is being prosecuted federally because of the amount of drugs involved — 56 grams of cocaine.