LOS ANGELES : 2 Ex-Sheriff’s Deputies Acquitted of Grand Theft
Two ex-sheriff’s deputies were found not guilty Tuesday of charges that they stole a trash bag full of cash during a 1989 search at an Inglewood storage facility.
After deliberating for 45 minutes, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury acquitted Steven B. Gibbs, 44, and Roger R. Garcia, 47, on single counts each of grand theft.
The men were charged with stealing $62,000 in cash during a 1989 search of a storage locker in Inglewood, the day after the defendants got a warrant to open it. Both men looked relieved as the verdicts were read and, outside the courtroom, a tearful Gibbs thanked jurors.
“It’s been four years and I finally feel vindicated by a fair and impartial jury,” he said. “It’s been unbelievable for me and my partner.”
Gibbs is a retired deputy and Garcia was fired after being indicted by a federal grand jury. Prosecutors contended that the case was an offshoot of the federal “Big Spender” investigation of corruption within an elite sheriff’s narcotics unit. Garcia was acquitted last year of several counts arising from those prosecutions.
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