Trial Delayed for Deputies Charged With Thefts
The trial date for nine Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department narcotics officers charged with stealing more than $1.4 million in seized narcotics profits has been pushed back three months at the request of defense attorneys.
U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie on Friday moved the trial from early July to Oct. 9 to allow the lawyers time to study more than 50,000 pages of documents from pretrial proceedings. Prosecutors said they may wait until two weeks before the trial to provide the defense with statements made by a 10th indicted officer, Sgt. Robert R. Sobel.
Sobel, a 19-year veteran who headed the narcotics team staffed by most of the defendants, pleaded guilty and has cooperated with authorities.
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