Former O.C. Sheriff’s deputy faces charges in burglaries of dead man’s home

The Orange County district attorney’s office said Thursday that it was charging Steve Hortz, a former sheriff’s deputy, with three felony counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of grand theft of a firearm.

Hortz, 42, of San Dimas is due back in court Tuesday to be arraigned after authorities said he was recorded on surveillance footage entering the home of dead man and burglarizing the residence on multiple occasions.

If found guilty of all counts, the 12-year veteran could face up to four years and four months in state prison.

“The failure of a single law enforcement officer to live up to their oath does not just tarnish that officer’s badge, it tarnishes the badge of the hundreds of thousands of honorable law enforcement officers who work day in and day out to protect and serve,” Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer in a statement.