Ex-US detective admits criminal charges

A former Philadelphia narcotics detective pleaded guilty to charges involving a plan to rob a drug dealer and said he is cooperating with prosecutors.

Jeffrey Walker, who served as a Philadelphia police officer for 24 years, admitted attempted robbery and using a gun in a crime, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. He is to be sentenced in May and faces a lengthy term in federal prison.

Last month, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said he had taken at least eight police officers off the streets. They include four described as targets of the ongoing federal investigation and four who had worked with Walker, including his former partner.

Walker admitted planning to plant evidence in a dealer’s car and to breaking into his house to steal money and 5 pounds of marijuana. But his lawyer, Thomas Fitzpatrick, said other officers in the narcotics squad have done much worse.

“These are dangerous people who have committed significant criminal activity for some time,” the lawyer said.

Fitzpatrick said Walker has provided federal investigators with significant information against other officers — “too many to count.”