Officer Pleads Guilty to Weapons Violations
A Los Angeles police officer arrested two weeks ago while allegedly trying to buy stolen jewelry pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to separate charges that he illegally possessed a machine gun, machine pistol and silencer.
Michael Alexander Edelstein, an 8-year LAPD veteran assigned to the West Valley Division, was arrested July 16 after the weapons were found in his Canoga Park house during a search by agents of the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau, authorities said.
Edelstein, 31, was free on $15,000 bail on the weapons charges when he was arrested a second time during a sting operation in Tarzana on Aug. 22. Authorities said Edelstein and two other men were arrested after purchasing two Rolex watches, two gold rings and other gold jewelry from undercover officers for $1,500.
Edelstein faces 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on the weapons charges.
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