(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Ex-cop gets probation for burglary, witness tampering [1]
['Jared Strong', 'More From Author', '- February']
Date: 2023-02-09
A former police officer accused of repeatedly harassing and threatening a Des Moines-area woman — including while he was jailed and she was a witness against him — avoided prison for a second time under a recent plea agreement.
Walter Pacheco, 28, of Pleasant Hill, was accused of a litany of crimes against the woman that occurred over many months of 2022. He was convicted in December of felony willful injury and misdemeanor stalking after pleading guilty to the charges in July.
The willful injury charge involved a separate victim whom Pacheco admitted to punching, court records show. Pacheco received a seven-year suspended prison sentence and five years of probation.
About 10 days after the guilty pleas in July, Pacheco was accused of forcing his way into a building the woman was cleaning and of taking her keys and cellphone. He was charged with several felonies and was released from jail.
In November, he was arrested again after prosecutors alleged he had recently harassed the woman in an attempt to affect the outcome of the new criminal case, according to court records. Later, while in jail, Pacheco allegedly instructed his mother to contact the woman via his Snapchat account.
Pacheco had faced a trial this month and decades in prison but recently submitted an Alford plea for felony burglary and misdemeanor tampering with a witness.
Such pleas are used to indicate that a criminal defendant doesn’t admit to the underlying facts of a criminal case but acknowledges a likelihood of conviction.
On Feb. 1, District Judge Heather Lauber sentenced Pacheco to an additional 12-year suspended prison term — for a total of 19 years when it was combined with his previous sentence — and five years of probation, court records show.
Pacheco must wear a tracking device for three years.
Those with suspended prison sentences can be incarcerated if they violate the terms of their probations.
Pacheco — who also is known by the surname Pacheco Belen — is a former police officer of Carroll and Eagle Grove. He was hired by both departments after an ex-girlfriend alleged he threatened to kill her and her daughter. Pacheco was forced to resign from his Carroll job and was fired by Eagle Grove.
Pacheco surrendered his peace officer certification last year.
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