Detroit police officers convicted of stealing, selling drugs to be sentenced
DETROIT - Two Detroit police officers convicted of using their police status to rob drug dealers will be sentenced Wednesday.
Lt. David Hansberry, 35, and Officer Bryan Watson, 47 were convicted on July 11, 2016 on charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion and robbery.
Hansberry and Watson were members of the now-disbanded Narcotics Unit of the Detroit Police Department, but were suspended in October 2014.
Hansberry, a 16-year veteran officer, and Watson, a 22-year veteran, used their status as police to set up drug deals and rob victims, evidence showed.
According to authorities, they would conduct traffic stops and fake arrests, and then steal drugs, money and property from their victims. Hansberry and Watson would wear police uniforms, drive police vehicles, activate lights on the vehicles, carry firearms and display official badges while carrying out the robberies.
Police said Hansberry and Watson would identify themselves as police as a way to get victims to comply and flee so that property, money and drugs could be stolen.
"These defendants tarnished the badge that is worn with honor by their fellow officers, using their power as police officers to steal money and drugs from criminals who have no recourse," said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.
They would also not log money and drugs as evidence seized while searching homes. Instead, they would split the money and arrange to sell the drugs, also splitting the money from the sale of the drugs, authorities said.
For instance, during a drug seizure Hansberry and Watson participated in during July 2010, more than $3 million came from the seizure, but only $2.2 million was placed in the evidence room.
Detroit police officers convicted of stealing, selling drugs to be sentenced
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Retired Hayward police sergeant convicted of 9 felonies at highly contentious grand theft trial
HAYWARD — At a highly contentious trial in which jurors saw only a portion of the courtroom drama, retired Hayward police Sgt. Michael Beal was convicted Wednesday of nine counts of felony grand theft for cheating a mentally ill former police confidential informant out of up to $500,000.
Retired Hayward police Sgt. Michael Beal was convicted Wednesday of nine counts of felony grand theft for cheating a mentally ill former police confidential informant out of up to $500,000. Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group
Beal, 57, was taken into custody on Wednesday morning after the guilty verdicts were returned. He had been released from jail on his own recognizance during the trial by Judge Thomas Rogers, which is highly unusual in a felony case, despite having $420,000 bail. He faces up to eight years in state prison at his sentencing scheduled for March 29. He already served 19 months in jail while awaiting trial.
Retired Hayward police sergeant convicted of 9 felonies at highly contentious grand theft trial
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Cop Convicted Of Lying In Arrest Of Man Who Was Filming Him
A jury found an NYPD officer guilty on Thursday of falsely arresting a man for filming him and illegally searching a woman in Washington Heights in 2014, then lying about the interaction in subsequent court documents to justify the bust.
Jonathan Munoz, 33, was convicted of filing a false instrument, official misconduct, and making a false statement, after a trial in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Police charged Disisto with obstructing police work, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, and in a police report, Munoz wrote that Disisto lunged and took a swing at him. Fortunately for Disisto, surveillance footage of the incident showed that this was a lie. The city settled a lawsuit by Disisto for an undisclosed amount of taxpayer money. The official misconduct charged stemmed from the baseless search of the woman, whom Munoz claimed he suspected of buying marijuana.
Munoz has worked as a police officer since 2006. In December 2015, an NYPD spokesperson told Gothamist that Munoz had been suspended without pay in connection with the Disisto incident. Payroll records indicate that Munoz made $116,000 last year and $111,000 in 2015, on a base salary of $78,000 and $76,000, respectively.
Cop Convicted Of Lying In Arrest Of Man Who Was Filming Him
DETROIT - Two Detroit police officers convicted of using their police status to rob drug dealers will be sentenced Wednesday.
Lt. David Hansberry, 35, and Officer Bryan Watson, 47 were convicted on July 11, 2016 on charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion and robbery.
Hansberry and Watson were members of the now-disbanded Narcotics Unit of the Detroit Police Department, but were suspended in October 2014.
Hansberry, a 16-year veteran officer, and Watson, a 22-year veteran, used their status as police to set up drug deals and rob victims, evidence showed.
According to authorities, they would conduct traffic stops and fake arrests, and then steal drugs, money and property from their victims. Hansberry and Watson would wear police uniforms, drive police vehicles, activate lights on the vehicles, carry firearms and display official badges while carrying out the robberies.
Police said Hansberry and Watson would identify themselves as police as a way to get victims to comply and flee so that property, money and drugs could be stolen.
"These defendants tarnished the badge that is worn with honor by their fellow officers, using their power as police officers to steal money and drugs from criminals who have no recourse," said U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.
They would also not log money and drugs as evidence seized while searching homes. Instead, they would split the money and arrange to sell the drugs, also splitting the money from the sale of the drugs, authorities said.
For instance, during a drug seizure Hansberry and Watson participated in during July 2010, more than $3 million came from the seizure, but only $2.2 million was placed in the evidence room.
Detroit police officers convicted of stealing, selling drugs to be sentenced
-----------------------
Retired Hayward police sergeant convicted of 9 felonies at highly contentious grand theft trial
HAYWARD — At a highly contentious trial in which jurors saw only a portion of the courtroom drama, retired Hayward police Sgt. Michael Beal was convicted Wednesday of nine counts of felony grand theft for cheating a mentally ill former police confidential informant out of up to $500,000.
Retired Hayward police Sgt. Michael Beal was convicted Wednesday of nine counts of felony grand theft for cheating a mentally ill former police confidential informant out of up to $500,000. Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group
Beal, 57, was taken into custody on Wednesday morning after the guilty verdicts were returned. He had been released from jail on his own recognizance during the trial by Judge Thomas Rogers, which is highly unusual in a felony case, despite having $420,000 bail. He faces up to eight years in state prison at his sentencing scheduled for March 29. He already served 19 months in jail while awaiting trial.
Retired Hayward police sergeant convicted of 9 felonies at highly contentious grand theft trial
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Cop Convicted Of Lying In Arrest Of Man Who Was Filming Him
A jury found an NYPD officer guilty on Thursday of falsely arresting a man for filming him and illegally searching a woman in Washington Heights in 2014, then lying about the interaction in subsequent court documents to justify the bust.
Jonathan Munoz, 33, was convicted of filing a false instrument, official misconduct, and making a false statement, after a trial in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Police charged Disisto with obstructing police work, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest, and in a police report, Munoz wrote that Disisto lunged and took a swing at him. Fortunately for Disisto, surveillance footage of the incident showed that this was a lie. The city settled a lawsuit by Disisto for an undisclosed amount of taxpayer money. The official misconduct charged stemmed from the baseless search of the woman, whom Munoz claimed he suspected of buying marijuana.
Munoz has worked as a police officer since 2006. In December 2015, an NYPD spokesperson told Gothamist that Munoz had been suspended without pay in connection with the Disisto incident. Payroll records indicate that Munoz made $116,000 last year and $111,000 in 2015, on a base salary of $78,000 and $76,000, respectively.
Cop Convicted Of Lying In Arrest Of Man Who Was Filming Him
