Judge Orders Officer Jailed Pending Trial in Theft Case
A fired Compton police officer was arraigned Wednesday on grand theft charges and ordered jailed by a judge who said the alleged thefts of cash from drivers’ wallets was too serious to let her remain free.
Charmagne Evon Drew, 25, of Compton turned herself in to the court Wednesday and pleaded innocent to five counts of grand theft. She was accused of stopping Spanish-speaking motorists on the pretense of traffic violations, asking for their wallets and removing hundreds of dollars in cash in four incidents from August to November, 1991. Two people were victims in one of the incidents.
The 14-month veteran was fired from the Compton Police Department late last year when an undercover officer from another police agency posed in a sting operation and became her last victim, police said.
Municipal Judge Glenette Blackwell refused public defense attorney Irv Cohen’s requests for Drew to be released on her own recognizance.
“It is like preying upon unsuspecting elderly people or people who don’t speak English,” Blackwell said in denying the release.
“It is a violation of public trust.”
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