Former Officers Sentenced in Shooting
Three former Los Angeles police officers pleaded no contest Wednesday to felony charges growing out of a drunken, off-duty shooting spree as they drove through Montebello last year after a late-night party.
The three were accused of indiscriminately firing at least 16 rounds July 30, prompting several 911 calls to Montebello police. The LAPD officers were arrested in a speeding sport utility vehicle carrying beer and weapons. No one was injured.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Aug. 24, 2000 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday August 24, 2000 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 3 Metro Desk 3 inches; 88 words Type of Material: Correction
Off-duty shooting--A story in July 27 editions of The Times incorrectly stated that three Los Angeles police officers had been fired after pleading no contest to felony charges growing out of an off-duty shooting spree last year in Montebello. In fact, none of the three was fired, according to the press relations office of the Los Angeles Police Department. Osbaldo Camacho resigned from the department, officials said. Cesar Roberto Huezo and Christian Nicholas Abdelkerim have been relieved of duty and have departmental Board of Rights hearings scheduled to determine their future status, according to the press office.
Osbaldo Camacho and Cesar Roberto Huezo, both 27, and Christian Nicholas Abdelkerim, 28, were sentenced to three years’ probation, fined $1,500 each and ordered to pay $200 each in restitution for negligent discharge of firearms.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Kellogg also ordered them to perform 250 hours each of community service. The work must involve “addressing at-risk children with the message that no one--including police officers--is above the law,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas R. Krag.
The three, who were fired after the incident, had faced a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
Under the terms of their probation, Krag said, the men are required to cooperate in the prosecution of a fourth, Steven Michael O’Neal. His preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 9.
Prosecutors said the incident began shortly after 3 a.m. when the officers, all assigned to the LAPD’s Southeast Division, and two women left a party at a Whittier restaurant where Sheriff’s Department personnel were celebrating the end of their probationary period.
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