PACOIMA : Man Charged With Bribery Attempt

A Pacoima man was charged Monday with attempting to bribe a police officer who stopped him for suspected drunk driving last month in Lake View Terrace.

Freddy Sanchez, 20, also was charged with two counts of attempted battery on a law enforcement officer after allegedly spitting on two Los Angeles Police Department officers who transported him to the Van Nuys Jail.

The officers sprayed Sanchez in the face with pepper gas after trying to subdue him, officials said.

Other charges against Sanchez include driving under the influence of alcohol, refusing to submit to a blood-alcohol test and driving without a license. He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Van Nuys Municipal Court.

The incident occurred at 10 p.m. Nov. 25 at the intersection of Foothill and Van Nuys boulevards, police said. A Foothill Division officer pulled over the vehicle Sanchez was driving after observing it swerving between eastbound lanes on Paxton Street.

An official declined to reveal the name of the officer, stating: “He is the victim in this case, and we never reveal the names of the victims.”

After the officer pulled his car over, Sanchez got out, staggered toward the police car and placed a $100 bill on the hood of the car, according to the criminal complaint.

The officer arrested Sanchez after determining that he did not have a driver’s license and observing that he appeared to be intoxicated, said Deputy City Atty. Nicholas Fratianne said. After he was taken to the LAPD’s Foothill Station, Sanchez refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test, authorities said.

Maximum penalties for the charges brought against Sanchez are one year in jail and a $10,000 fine for offering the bribe; one year in jail and a $2,000 fine for battery on a police officer, and six months and a $1,000 fine for drunk driving and driving without a license.

Attempted-bribery charges are rarely filed in the San Fernando Valley, according to Richard Schmidt, supervising attorney for the Van Nuys Division of the city attorney’s office. “We don’t often see cases where the defendant actually tenders money,” he said.

“Sometimes people will try to cajole or threaten the officer into not making an arrest, but it’s very rare that somebody actually produces greenbacks. In this case, I believe the defendant told the officer something like: ‘Think about it, you’re working all by yourself.’ We actually have the $100 bill booked into evidence.”