Man gets year in jail for using honorary badge
A Compton man whose arrest unleashed a controversy over official-looking badges issued by a state assemblyman was sentenced Tuesday to a year in jail for flashing the honorary shield to Redondo Beach police officers after leaving a club last year.
Pirikana Johnson, 28, was convicted earlier this month of misdemeanor charges of false use of a state Assembly commissioner badge handed out by Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton) and driving while drunk. In addition to the jail time, Torrance Superior Court Judge Lori Ann Fournier imposed $1,600 in fines and fees, plus penalties, which increase the total to about $5,600, said Redondo Beach prosecutor Steve Kay.
She also placed Johnson on three years’ probation.
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