An Orange County jury Tuesday convicted a longtime Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy of repeatedly assaulting and threatening his girlfriend after she discovered he was having an affair, as well as threatening the other woman if she appeared in court, officials said.
Mark Eric Hibner, 44, of Anaheim was convicted of two counts of domestic battery with corporal injury and three counts of making criminal threats, Orange County District Attorney’ spokeswoman Farrah Emami said in a written statement.
All five counts are felonies, and Hibner faces up to eight years in state prison when he returned to the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana to be sentenced Nov. 15, officials said.
The allegations stem from Christmas Day of 2012, when Hibner became involved in an argument after his girlfriend, “discovered a sexually suggestive voicemail from another woman on the defendant’s cell phone,” according to the D.A.’s statement. The girlfriend was identified by authorities as Jane Doe #1.
“Over the next few days, Hibner physically assaulted Jane Doe #1, spit on the victim, repeatedly swore at her and threatened to kill her,” the statement said.
Hibner, whose booking sheet indicated stands 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 230 pounds, woke up Jane Doe #1 Dec. 30, dragged her into the living room of her Anaheim home by her hair and got on top of her, prosecutors said.
“Jane Doe #1 cried, begged Hibner to stop and banged her foot on the floor to wake the neighbors,” according to the D.A.’s statement. “Hibner than covered the victim’s mouth, pinched her nose and threatened to make her pass out. He got off Jane Doe #1, spit on her, threw a lit cigarette at her an called her derogatory names.”
Hibner met with the other woman, with whom he’d had a previous relationship and a child with, for a custody exchange Feb. 19, officials said. She was described as Jane Doe #2.
“During the meeting, Hibner threatened to kill Jane Doe #2 if she appeared in court at a hearing scheduled for two days later regarding a protective order for the crimes against Jane Doe #1,” according to the D.A.’s statement.
The case was investigated by the Anaheim Police Department.
Hibner, a 22-year-veteran of the sheriff’s department, was assigned to patrol county courthouses, sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
He was placed on administrative leave in January, Whitmore added. Following his conviction Tuesday, the sheriff’s department began the process of terminating him.
Records show Hibner was taken into custody after the jury verdict Wednesday.
Though he officially remained employed by the sheriff’s department Wednesday pending termination proceedings, his booking records described his occupation as “unemployed.”