POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Polk County Sheriff's deputy was arrested Friday after an investigation reveled he gave confidential information to a suspect being investigated by the Polk County Organized Crime Unit.
According to officials, Deputy Sheriff Joseph Murphy ran the tag number of an undercover Sergeant and gave the information to the girlfriend of a man being investigated for drug trafficking.
Morgan Wilson, the girlfriend of Erick Chavez, asked Deputy Murphy to run the tag number after she spotted the undercover Sergeant following her on numerous occasions.
When first interviewed by detectives, Deputy Murphy denied running the tag information for Wilson. He eventually admitted to it, but said he did not know he was running tag information of an undercover Sergeant and that he wouldn't have given Wilson the information if he had known.
Murphy was arrested and charged with one count of access to a computer without authority. He bonded out of the Polk County Jail early Saturday morning.
Murphy is 41 years old and has been with the Polk County Sheriff's Office for 16-years. He has been suspended without pay pending the termination process.