Maryland state trooper sentenced to 6 years for soliciting bribes from alleged drug dealer

Dan Belson and Luke Parker, The Baltimore Sun on Jun 6, 2025

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BALTIMORE — A Maryland State Police trooper was sentenced Thursday to six years in federal prison after he admitted to passing information to a suspect in a drug case in exchange for cash.

The sentence came after Justin Riggs, 35, pleaded guilty to drug and bribery charges, signing an agreement where the former corporal admitted to telling the drug distributor the name of an informant who had passed information to police. Federal prosecutors noted in court filings that the harm caused by Riggs soliciting bribes from a drug dealer was “far-reaching” and could have led to the informant’s death.

“Words do not accurately convey the damage caused by” Riggs, who had been with the state police for 10 years, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. Riggs leaked the information about the probe into a Western Maryland drug ring “for a mere” grocery bag of cash, they noted.

Court documents show Riggs, of Smithsburg, was part of a team surveilling sales from cocaine and methamphetamine dealers. Those transactions, authorities said, were led by a confidential informant, who made several recorded purchases throughout 2022.

According to his plea agreement, Riggs created a fake Facebook account that December and reached out to one of the suspected distributors, telling them that he was working for a federal agency on “a very serious case.”

“Im [sic] looking to receive payment for info I can give you and hopefully work with you for info you need in the future,” Riggs wrote online.

As a “good faith measure,” Riggs told the suspect that there was a magnetic tracker on his truck, “hidden good” under a wheel well, according to court documents. Removing the tracker, Riggs said, would alert police. So he suggested driving the truck across the country and leaving it there “to throw everyone off.”

He also told the suspect that he had “tons” of information on an informant who was “doing you dirty,” court records show, but said that kind of intel would have to be bought — “I know what’ll happen to the rat,” he wrote in a message to the suspect.

“Like I said I can help you. By telling you the snitch. Once he’s gone then you’re case should be gone because he won’t be able to testify against you,” Riggs messaged the suspect.

It ended up only costing around $1,800, which the alleged drug distributor left near dumpsters at a ‪Red Roof Inn in Williamsport. Afterward, Riggs checked the suspect’s associates for warrants, the plea agreement says.

Defense attorneys for Riggs wrote in court filings that the trooper’s “catastrophic lapse in judgment” was due to “overwhelming financial pressure, severe PTSD, and cognitive impairment from toxic chemical exposure.” They noted that the bribery case “has destroyed his career and separated him from his wife and young children.”

They said he “has genuine remorse for his actions and fully accepted responsibility for his conduct.”

In addition to the six-year sentence, U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher ordered for Riggs to be placed on three years of supervised release after he serves his time behind bars.

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