Dallas public defender arrested, accused of having relationship with inmate, sheriff says
A Dallas County public defender accused of having a personal relationship with an inmate she did not represent has been arrested, authorities said
Dallas County sheriff’s deputies arrested public defender Ragan Sierra Moreno on Sept. 14 after an investigation, according to a news release.
Moreno came under suspicion when an sheriff’s office employee noticed her spending a lot of time with inmate Todd Whitfield, according to the arrest warrant.
Detectives checked Whitfield’s communication records and found he had used both his and the accounts of other inmates, which according to the arrest warrant is a tactic commonly used by inmates to avoid having their calls monitored.
Detectives believed the two had developed a personal relationship.
The arrest warrant describes an incident on Sept. 5 where Moreno allegedly attempted to, “expose herself,” to Whitfield from a parking garage outside his cell.
She was stopped by the presence of a Dallas County marshal vehicle, according to the warrant.
On Sept. 12, Whitfield called Moreno from the county jail to get more information about a pending case against his brother, Zion, according to the warrant.
Moreno used her access as a county employee to get confidential information about Zion Whitfield’s accuser, which Todd Whitfield used to threaten the accuser, according to the warrant.
Moreno was charged with abuse of official capacity, and posted $5,000 bond. Moreno had been a county employee for eight months, according to her LinkedIn profile.
This story was originally published September 18, 2023 at 6:54 PM.
.jpg)