Ex-Alabama officer agrees to plead guilty to planting drugs before sham traffic stop

A former Alabama police officer has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a scheme to plant drugs on innocent motorists to manufacture drug arrests, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

Michael Kilgore, 40, of Centre, Alabama, was charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, specifically methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama. Court records obtained by USA TODAY showed that Kilgore signed a plea agreement on the charge and admitted to intentionally conspiring with at least one other known individual.

Kilgore, who began working as a police officer with the Centre Police Department in 2022, began his scheme in early January 2023 when he stopped a vehicle and found various drugs, according to the plea agreement. He then offered the driver, who wasn't identified in court records, a chance to avoid drug charges by working for him.

"The driver accepted and became a co-conspirator in Kilgore’s drug-planting scheme," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

Kilgore was arrested in May 2023 and fired from the department, according to a statement from the Centre Police Department. The U.S. Attorney's Office said a district court will schedule a date for Kilgore to enter his guilty plea.

The federal charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a financial penalty. Prosecutors said in their sentencing recommendation that Kilgore's acceptance of personal responsibility and intention to enter a guilty plea would be taken into consideration.

Former Alabama officer performed 'sham' traffic stops

About a week after the unnamed driver accepted Kilgore's offer and became his co-conspirator, Kilgore contacted the driver and said he wanted to make a methamphetamine case, according to the plea agreement.

The co-conspirator proposed a female target and told Kilgore that he would plant the narcotics in the target's vehicle, the plea agreement states. The narcotics included marijuana, "so that Kilgore would have probable cause to search the target's vehicle based on the marijuana smell," according to the plea agreement.

Kilgore and his co-conspirator then arranged for a package containing methamphetamine, oxycodone, and marijuana to be attached to the undercarriage of a vehicle, prosecutors said.

On Jan. 31, 2023, Kilgore performed a "sham traffic stop that vehicle and 'discovered' the drug package where he knew it had been planted," according to prosecutors. Kilgore had pulled over the driver of the vehicle, who was accompanied by a female passenger, for an alleged traffic violation and detained the two victims for drug possession, the plea agreement states.

Kilgore and his co-conspirator later planned to repeat the scheme on another vehicle, prosecutors said. But after purchasing the drugs, Kilgore's co-conspirator discarded the narcotics and reported the scheme to an acquaintance in law enforcement, according to the plea agreement.

At the time of Kilgore's arrest, the Centre Police Department said investigator Randy Mayorga had initiated an investigation after receiving the allegation and discovered evidence that corroborated the allegation. Arrest warrants were then obtained for criminal conspiracy to commit a controlled substance crime distribution.

"We are very disappointed in Kilgore’s conduct," Centre Police Chief Kirk Blankenship said in a statement at the time. "There is no excuse for any officer violating the law like this."

Following Kilgore's arrest, the driver targeted in the scheme sued Kilgore for wrongful arrest, AL.com reported in October 2023. The driver said Kilgore planted drugs in his vehicle and used a police dog from another department to find the narcotics.