LOS ANGELES—Two Los Angeles Police Department officers convicted of perjury and other charges related to lying under oath in a 2008 drug case were sentenced Tuesday to community labor and probation.
Evan Samuel was ordered to perform 750 hours of service on graffiti removal or some other labor and Richard Amio was ordered to complete 500 hours of similar work, the Los Angeles Times reported ( http://lat.ms/14878vV)..
Samuel had faced a maximum sentence of more than seven years behind bars while Amio faced more than six years.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor called the officers' conduct "regrettably shameful" but said he also took into account their careers in public service, the Times said.
The district attorney's office had sought a minimum sentence of three years for both men, arguing in court papers that "the lies told throughout their reports and testimony ... were deliberate and malicious and constituted a sophisticated attempt to derail the administration of justice."
Samuel was convicted last year of three counts of perjury and Amio was convicted of two counts of perjury, among other charges.
Amio and Samuel testified they chased Guillermo Alarcon Jr. into his Hollywood apartment and saw him immediately toss a black object that contained cocaine. But a surveillance tape showed four officers searching for more than 20 minutes before finding the drugs.
The officers denied wrongdoing.
Evan Samuel was ordered to perform 750 hours of service on graffiti removal or some other labor and Richard Amio was ordered to complete 500 hours of similar work, the Los Angeles Times reported ( http://lat.ms/14878vV)..
Samuel had faced a maximum sentence of more than seven years behind bars while Amio faced more than six years.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor called the officers' conduct "regrettably shameful" but said he also took into account their careers in public service, the Times said.
The district attorney's office had sought a minimum sentence of three years for both men, arguing in court papers that "the lies told throughout their reports and testimony ... were deliberate and malicious and constituted a sophisticated attempt to derail the administration of justice."
Samuel was convicted last year of three counts of perjury and Amio was convicted of two counts of perjury, among other charges.Amio and Samuel testified they chased Guillermo Alarcon Jr. into his Hollywood apartment and saw him immediately toss a black object that contained cocaine. But a surveillance tape showed four officers searching for more than 20 minutes before finding the drugs.
The officers denied wrongdoing.
