A special prosecutor dropped charges of fraud and embezzlement against former Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s deputy Trevor Walker, who was accused of cashing garnishment checks incorrectly sent to him.

Special prosecutor Marco Serna, who was once the district attorney, filed a nolle prosequi on Jan. 7, dismissing the case with prejudice, meaning charges cannot be brought again. In the notice, he wrote, “the Defendant has paid full restitution to the City of Aztec.”

Sheriff Lorenzo Aguilar fired Walker on Oct. 20, he wrote in an email. Aguilar placed Walker on administrative leave with pay on July 9, after he came under separate suspicion of overtime fraud at the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office.

Agent Charlene Archuleta charged Walker, 25, of Farmington, on Sept. 8, with a single count each of embezzlement over $2,500 and fraud over $2,500. Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Detective Manuel Romero brought the allegations of fraud in Aztec to Archuleta’s office on July 21, she wrote in charging documents.

The City of Aztec successfully sued walker in 2024 after he allegedly reneged on an agreement to pay back a $16,000 signing bonus because he did not spend a full year at the police department. He signed an agreement to repay the funds, then didn’t, so Aztec sued for breach of contract and the remedy was to garnish his wages, according to court documents.

The 25% pay garnishment documents had an error: the place the checks were to be sent listed Walker’s address, not Aztec’s town hall, even though the checks stated they were only payable to the City of Aztec. Romero confirmed that Walker deposited the garnishment checks incorrectly sent to him and then he got Walker’s bank records that showed he cashed seven garnishment checks, totaling $5,316, between March and June, Archuleta wrote.

No charges for the possible overtime fraud have been filed.