Ex-Hartford police chief sentenced in drug case

Rachel Van Gilder
·2 min read
2

PAW PAW, Mich. (WOOD) — The former Hartford police chief will spend years in prison after authorities say she stole drugs from a disposal box at the police department.

Tressa Beltran was sentenced Monday to between three years, four months and 20 years behind bars.

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Search warrants show that in the summer of 2022, the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office got a tip that Beltran was stealing narcotics. In response, investigators left two marked bottles of hydrocodone in a drug disposal box at the police department. When they returned to collect the box’s contents, the documents said, they found that a number of pills from the marked bottles were gone. Investigators raided the department on June 30, 2022. They said they found several prescription bottles and loose hydrocodone pills in Beltran’s purse and that she admitted she was stealing drugs from the disposal box and using them.

Beltran resigned from her job in January 2023. She was formally charged in May of that year.

She pleaded guilty in April of this year to two felonies: delivery or possession of a controlled substance and using a computer to commit a crime. In exchange for her plea, several other counts were dismissed.

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The felony conviction means she may never be a police officer in Michigan again.

“Today’s sentence delivered a clear message that no one is above the law,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office handled the case, said in a statement. “I commend the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office for their diligent investigative efforts that led to the removal of Ms. Beltran from her position as police chief, ensuring she could no longer jeopardize public health. My office will continue to pursue public integrity and hold accountable those who abuse their positions of power.”

Van Buren County Sheriff Dan Abbott praised Nessel’s office and his narcotics unit under Capt. Jim Charon for their hard work.

“As I’ve said before, someone’s position in our community won’t alter how we do our job at our office. Everyone is treated the same way,” Abbott said.

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