Court papers obtained by NBC 5 Investigates detail another arrest in the fake inspection scandal that extends inside the Texas Department of Public Safety.
NBC 5 Investigates has learned The Texas Rangers arrested a man named Johnny Ray Robinson, who is accused of making payments to a DPS inspector in charge of overseeing a shop known as South Side Inspections.
The Rangers raided a Dallas building where they said South Side was operating last month, because they suspected the shop was faking emissions tests, falsely passing cars, according to court documents.
Robinson was not listed in state records as the owner of South Side Inspections but, in an arrest warrant affidavit, investigators said financial records showed Robinson paid the state licensing fees for South Side when it opened.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
In court papers, the Texas Rangers said DPS inspector Robinson is accused of helping South Side continue operating by turning the station's emissions analyzers on after they had been shut off for potentially suspicious activity.
That DPS Inspector was arrested in August, the same day as the raid on South Side Inspections.
Robinson did not immediately respond to messages left by NBC 5 Investigates.
FAKE INSPECTIONS, REAL PLATES
As NBC 5 Investigates has reported, state records show South Side Inspections reported conducting more than 70,000 vehicle inspections in about five months this year. Law enforcement experts told NBC 5 Investigates that is an impossible number of inspections for a small inspection station and a red flag for fraudulent inspections.
NBC 5 Investigates discovered the shop was not operating at its listed address, which was in fact a parking lot of another business. The Rangers later discovered South Side’s emissions analyzers were connecting to the internet from a building across the street, according to a warrant affidavit.
So far, at least eight people have been arrested in the widening scandal, including two DPS employees. The agency told NBC 5 Investigates a third DPS employee has also been suspended as the investigation continues.
For months an NBC 5 series, “Fake Inspections, Real Plates,” has raised questions about inspection stations conducting seemingly implausible numbers of inspections at locations that appear to have no visible vehicle activity, raising questions about the state’s oversight of the emissions inspection program.
DPS Director Steve McCraw pledged to crack down on fraudulent inspections in interviews with NBC 5 Investigates earlier this year.
The emissions tests are mandated by federal rules in large urban counties that do not meet air quality standards.
