An undercover Pennsylvania state trooper has been charged with possessing cocaine after a confidential informant told investigators he saw the officer buying and selling drugs.
The state police announced Monday that 8-year veteran Trooper Jose Lebron, of Reading, has been placed on leave.
Defense attorney Evan Kelly tells The Associated Press that Lebron is a victim of the "collateral damage" of undercover narcotics work and is now seeking help for a drug problem. Kelly stopped short of acknowledging the trooper's guilt, however.
Lebron was working at the Avondale barracks in Chester County when he allegedly met with the informant several times, sometimes in his state police-issued vehicle.
Police finally set up a sting Friday in a fast-food parking lot, where the informant allegedly sold Lebron 3.5 grams of cocaine.
