Recently in bad cop Category

From the Associated Press:

MIAMI -- A vial of Ted Bundy's blood has been found in Florida and investigators will use the newly discovered evidence to try to solve cases that went cold decades ago.
Before he was executed in 1989, Bundy confessed to more than 30 murders and was suspected of many more. A complete DNA profile couldn't be developed for the serial killer until the blood was found. The full profile will be uploaded to the FBI's national database Friday, giving authorities key evidence to possibly link Bundy to long-unsolved crimes.
The vial was discovered after Florida authorities received a call from a detective working a cold case in Tacoma, Wash. The blood had been taken in 1978 when Bundy was arrested in the death of a 12-year-old girl in Columbia County, Fla., The News Tribune in Tacoma reported.
Despite an order to destroy much of the biological evidence in the Florida case, the vial was still on file, said David Coffman, chief of forensic services at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Tallahassee crime lab.
"We were really surprised," he said.
Coffman cautioned that it will be a challenge to find full DNA samples from so long ago, making a match unlikely. But if there is a match, authorities will know right away.
The Tacoma detective was investigating the 1961 disappearance of Ann Marie Burr, a 6-year-old who vanished from her home in the middle of the night. Bundy is among several possible suspects.
The Tacoma detective said they had letters Bundy had sent that might contain his DNA on the stamps or envelop and could be used to develop a forensic profile, and possibly discover if he was linked to the Burr case.
Coffman said the agency said it had some items to examine, too. There was a display case with evidence from Bundy's trial in their lab. Among the items: dental molds of Bundy's teeth and the wax impressions that had been used to make them.
"After hanging up with her, I went back to our display and looked at it," Coffman recalled. "I said, 'There's got to be something. DNA's gotten so sensitive now.'"
He decided to try the molds for traces of saliva, but there were a number of fingerprints on them, so it wasn't a great sample. At about the same time, the
Florida agency discovered the Columbia County clerk's office had an original blood sample taken from Bundy. It resulted in a complete forensic profile, with all 13 core markers used in tests against the DNA database.
A bulletin will be sent to law enforcement agencies across the country when the DNA is uploaded. Tacoma police are among those waiting. Detectives there are sending evidence to the state crime lab to see if there is still DNA on it 50 years later.
Bundy sexually assaulted and killed several young women in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah and Florida between 1974 and 1978. He was sentenced to death in 1979 for the murder of two Florida college students and later for the rape and murder of the 12-year-old girl in Columbia County.

LONG BEACH - A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy accused of engaging in sex acts with a teenage girl is expected to be arraigned this afternoon, the District Attorney's Office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Deborah Escobar of the Justice System Integrity Division said Orlando Denison, 34 (dob 8/16/76), is charged with two felony counts of oral copulation of a person under 18.

Denison is expected to appear for arraignment in Department J of Long Beach Superior Court. The defendant was charged on May 5 in case No. NA088848 in a felony complaint for arrest warrant.

Officers of the Long Beach Police Department arrested Denison without incident at his residence yesterday afternoon. The alleged offenses, which occurred in July 2010, involve a female relative who was 16 at the time.

If convicted as charged, Denison faces a maximum sentence of three years, eight months in state prison. Bail for the defendant is recommended at $100,000.

VICTORVILLE -- Another San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy has been arrested on suspicion of committing sex acts with a child in the department's explorer program, officials announced today.

Sheriff's Deputy Anthony Benjamin, 30, a supervisor of the program in Victorville, was arrested late Wednesday and posted $100,000 bail this morning, San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said.

Investigators suspect the sex acts occurred while the victim, a 17-year-old girl, was on ride-alongs with the deputy.

Sheriff Rod Hoops said the explorer ride-along program will be suspended for 60 days and the entire program will be fully reviewed and overhauled.

Benjamin is the second deputy in less than two weeks to be arrested on suspicion of having sex with a child in the program.

Deputy Nathan Gastineau, 30, based at the sheriff's Highland station, was arrested in late April on suspicion of committing lewd acts with a child. Jason Anguiano, 27, of Rialto, suspected of having sex with the same girl, also was arrested.

Statement issued by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office:

LOS ANGELES - A retired sheriff's deputy accused of embezzling half a million dollars from the City of La Puente pleaded no contest today and will be sentenced to three years in state prison, the District Attorney's office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Amy Pellman Pentz with the Justice System Integrity Division said Joseph Dyer, 56, pleaded no contest to one felony count of public officer crime before Judge Stephen Marcus. He returns to court on May 31 for sentencing.

Dyer and his wife, Lydia Dyer, 47, were indicted in July 2009 on charges that he stole nearly $500,000 in tow fees from La Puente and they failed to report that money on their tax returns.

As a sheriff's deputy, Dyer supervised the impound program at LASD's Industry Station and collected towing fees from residents. Between June 2001 to December 2007, he stole money that should have been paid to the City of La Puente.

The indictment charged Dyer with grand theft, embezzlement and public officer crime. In addition, he and his wife were charged with five counts of filing false tax returns.

Pentz said Lydia Dyer pleaded no contest today to a reduced charge of misdemeanor filing a false tax return. She was immediately sentenced to 12 months summary probation.

As a condition of their plea, Pentz said the couple today repaid the Sheriff's Department $554,588, which included the loss plus $100,000 to help reimburse the LASD for the cost of the investigation.

They also paid $44,149 in back taxes to the state Franchise Tax Board on March 10.

Cheating. And, porn and guns and aspiring cops. That's the atmosphere at the Rio Hondo Police Academy, according to a former employee who laid it all out for the school's Board of Trustees in a letter that we've exclusively obtained. Here's a bit of Dan Tedford's story on the subject:

"There are police officers on the street not properly trained with the shotgun," Lopez wrote in the letter. "If there is an accidental discharge or one of these officers shoots someone with the shotgun, and there is a (sic) law suit, the college will be on the hook for any damages."

This statement comes from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office:

LOS ANGELES - A former Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy and a male co-conspirator were sentenced today(Tuesday) to four and two years in prison respectively for attempting to smuggle drugs into a county jail facility guarded by the deputy.

Peter Paul Felix, 26, had been a sheriff's deputy about two years until he resigned shortly after Oct. 13, 2008. On that date he was caught attempting to smuggle 161.5 grams of heroin, 24.4 grams of methamphetamine and 51.5 grams of marijuana into the North County Correctional Facility where he worked as a guard.

Felix, who pleaded no contest on June 10 to possession for sale of a controlled substance, was sentenced by Judge James Bianco to four years in state prison, said Deputy District Attorney Paul Nunez, with the Justice System Integrity Division.

Terance Anthony Warner, 28, an inmate at the time at North County jail who arranged the drug pickup, pleaded no contest today to the same charge. He was sentenced to two years in state prison, Nunez said.

A third co-conspirator, Monique Ciara Garcia, 22, who delivered the drugs to Felix, pleaded no contest to the same count and was sentenced June 23 to two years in state prison.

All remaining counts were dismissed.

Police arrested a Pasadena parole agent on suspicion of stealing nearly $3,000 from a Monrovia parolee's bank account, authorities said Thursday.
Robert Earl Wilson, 52, of Chino Hills was booked Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of grand theft, Pasadena police Lt. Tracey Ibarra said.
The alleged victim, Elaine Balles, 59, of Monrovia, was on parole at the time of the theft, Ibarra said
"He removed funds from a bank account without authorization of the victim," the lieutenant said. The alleged thefts took place between February and May.
Balles was not being supervised by Wilson, Ibarra said.
Police said Balles had come to trust Wilson through their interactions at the Pasadena parole office, 333. E. Walnut Street. She provided him with her bank account information so that he could access her account if she became incarcerated, Ibarra said.
Balles was arrested in March by Monrovia police officers on a parole violation following a 2004 burglary conviction, according to court documents. A judge sentenced her to 180 days in jail and she was released on May 18, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
"She had trust that he would be a responsible individual," the lieutenant added. "Unfortunately, he then utilized that info to get funds for himself."
Police arrested Wilson about 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Pasadena parole office.
Balles could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Maria Franco, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections, said Wilson had been with the the agency for more than 20 years.
"There's no comment because it's an ongoing investigation," Franco said. "That would impede an investigation."
Once Pasadena police complete their criminal investigation, the state will conduct its own administrative probe, Franco said.
"Anything involving a peace officer we take very seriously," she said.
Wilson was placed on administrative leave during the investigation, Franco said.
The parole agent was released Wednesday after posting $20,000 bail, according to sheriff's booking records.
Police said he was due in Pasadena Superior Court for arraignment on Aug. 27.
Balles has an extensive criminal record that dates back to the mid-1980s. She has been convicted of drug possession, petty theft, forgery, child endangerment, burglary and elder abuse.
There were no indications Thursday that anyone else had been victimized by Wilson, Ibarra said.
"We do not have any additional victims, nor any prior allegations of similar conduct," she said.

WEST COVINA - The city placed a West Covina Police officer on paid leave amid a criminal investigation into claims the officer raped a woman, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

A 41-year-old woman said West Covina Police Officer Hector Garay raped her on June 30 inside her West Covina apartment. This newspaper does not identify alleged victims of sex crimes.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Amy Hanson, an internal criminal investigator with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed a probe into the woman's allegations against Garay is underway.

Garay, 52, of Corona, did not discuss the allegations.

"I'm not going to comment," Garay said.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore and Sgt. Scott Craig, the sheriff's department lead internal criminal investigator, deferred all questions to West Covina Police Chief Frank Wills.

Wills declined to discuss the specifics of the probe and didn't name the officer involved.

"The allegations, even if true, have nothing to do with on-duty conduct or matters in the scope of his employment," Wills said.

Wills said the alleged victim has a "long history" of making false allegations against West Covina Police officers. 

A federal civil rights lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court Wednesday alleges the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department encourages deputies to seek out intimate relationships with alleged victims of crimes.

The lawsuit also alleges the Sheriff's Department routinely covers up inappropriate relationships and conflicts-of-interests and conducts internal investigations aimed at exonerating accused deputies.

The lawsuit, filed by Arnoldo Casillas on behalf of Alberto Gutierrez of Rosemead, seeks unspecified damages.

"There's this problem and practice of sweeping this behavior under the rug," said Casillas at a press conference Wednesday in Montebello.

Sheriff's officials denied the allegations leveled at the department and Detective Phil Solano, a 29-year-veteran who works at the Industry substation.

Solano did not return three calls seeking comment.

Read more: http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_15312967#ixzz0r5NSPvVI

A sheriff's spokesman said officials reassigned an Industry detective to administrative duty after allegations surfaced that he had a Rosemead man arrested to further a relationship with the man's wife.

Detective Phil Solano remains at the Industry Station pending the outcome of the investigation, said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.

The probe began in April shortly after the Sheriff's Department received a complaint, Whitmore said.

"That's news to me," Solano said of the investigation. He declined to comment further.

According to court documents, Alberto Gutierrez, 36, was arrested in June 2008 on suspicion of making death threats and violating a domestic restraining order, Solano investigated the case.

In September 2008 Solano arrested Gutierrez on suspicion of violating a restraining order and stalking.

Gutierrez said at the time of his arrests he didn't know Solano and his wife Mayela Gutierrez knew each other. But, during his April trial, Gutierrez learned that his wife and Solano were Facebook friends. Solano testified under oath that he had "one communication" with Mayela, according to court documents.

Despite the Internet relationship with the suspect's wife, Solano, a 29-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department, investigated the case and testified against Gutierrez, according to court documents.

The suit, filed by Montebello attorney Arnoldo Casillas on behalf of a man who was arrested by suspended officer Tyler Kennedy makes the explosive claim.

The man says Kennedy arrested him and asked a judge to hold him without bail so that Kennedy could carry on an affair with his wife. Here's the relevant portion of the suit:

"Officers of the West Covina Police Department were permitted to and regularily did pursue and maintain intimate relationships with the victims in the sexual abuse cases they were investigating,"

Casillas' suit also claims that West Covina officers routinely discriminate against minorities using illegal searches and seizures -- and that city officials covered up the criminal activities of rogue West Covina cops.

From the Associated Press:

LOS ANGELES -- A former Redondo Beach police officer has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $72,000 from his police union.
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office says 40-year-old Gene Tomatani entered his
plea Wednesday to one count felony grand theft.
He is expected to pay over $85,000 in restitution.
Prosecutors say Tomatani stole from the Redondo Beach Police Officer's Association while serving as treasurer and then president of the group from 2004 to 2008.
Tomatani will be sentenced March 15. He faces up to four years in state prison.
Tomatani resigned from the department in October.

From Thomas Himes: