School Trustee Pleads No Contest to Petty Theft

A school board member accused of paying minors to steal campaign signs last year pleaded no contest Tuesday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom to two misdemeanor counts of petty theft.

Hugo Rojas, 33, who heads the Hawthorne Youth Commission and was elected to the school board last year, said he was innocent, but was acting on the advice of his attorney in entering the plea.

“I’m pretty disappointed, but I trust his judgment,” Rojas said. “I’ve been disrespected since the beginning of this, and basically I’m tired of coming” to court.