Former Los Angeles police officer admits to violent robbery spree
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
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(10-20) 04:58 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --
A former police officer serving 15 years in prison on drug trafficking and weapon charges, has admitted that he and other officers were behind a robbery spree that netted hundreds of thousands of dollars between 1998 and 2001.
Ruben Palomares, 34, and his colleagues collected drugs, cash, guns and other items in robberies that sometimes turned brutally violent, according to a plea agreement and other documents, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The robberies were often staged to look like law enforcement raids, and in one instance, the robbers even identified themselves as cops as they stole television sets from the back of semi truck on a street in Montebello, the documents show.
According to the documents filed Tuesday, the ex-Rampart Division officer agreed to plead guilty to a potential life sentence in connection with the robberies and agreed to cooperate with authorities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien, the lead prosecutor on the case, declined comment.
Winston Kevin McKesson, Palomares' lawyer, said his client has become a born-again Christian after his arrest and is trying to make amends for his misdeeds.
"He's decided to step forward and try to see that justice is done," said McKesson, who also represented Rafael Perez, the LAPD officer who launched the Rampart division corruption investigation in 1999. "He's trying to get right with God."
The charges are the result of an ongoing federal investigation that began when Palomares was caught buying 10 kilograms of cocaine from undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agents in San Diego in 2001.
Palomares and his cohorts dressed in police uniforms, drove, police cars and flashed their badges during many of the robberies, according to the documents.
During the spree, at least two men were shot with stun guns, while another man was beaten with a police baton, had a gun shoved in his mouth and was burned with a lighter, the Times reported.
The group sold the more than 700 pounds of marijuana, 50 kilos of cocaine, and an assortment of firearms and jewelry that it collected, the court papers state.
The officers used surveillance teams to watch for police or witnesses and would often handcuff their victims.
Under his plea deal, Palomares can only earn a reduction in his sentence if the prosecution finds that he has been truthful and has provided "substantial assistance" to their investigation.
Prosecutors have already been able to corroborate much of his allegations through outside sources, the Times reported.
The robbery crew was made up of about 20 members, including family and friends of Palomares.
Among them were five officers on active-duty at the time of the spree. Two were members of the Los Angeles Police Department, one of whom was later fired for unrelated misconduct and another who resigned. Two more were Long Beach officers assigned to desk duties pending the outcome of the federal investigation.
The fifth was a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who now works as a prison guard at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.
Palomares, who joined the LAPD in 1993, was a former Golden Gloves boxer who sparred with such fighters as Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley.
He was among a number of officers identified by Rafael Perez in 1999, but Palomares was never criminally charged in the Rampart scandal and the majority of his criminal activity took place while he was under investigation, according to court documents.
Palomares pleaded guilty to the San Diego drug charges last year. The investigation into the robbery ring remains ongoing.
At his sentencing, Palomares said he regretted his crime. He said he started committing robberies to provide for his five young children after alcohol and pain pill addictions forced him go on disability at the LAPD.
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
* Printable Version
* Email This Article
(10-20) 04:58 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --
A former police officer serving 15 years in prison on drug trafficking and weapon charges, has admitted that he and other officers were behind a robbery spree that netted hundreds of thousands of dollars between 1998 and 2001.
Ruben Palomares, 34, and his colleagues collected drugs, cash, guns and other items in robberies that sometimes turned brutally violent, according to a plea agreement and other documents, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
The robberies were often staged to look like law enforcement raids, and in one instance, the robbers even identified themselves as cops as they stole television sets from the back of semi truck on a street in Montebello, the documents show.
According to the documents filed Tuesday, the ex-Rampart Division officer agreed to plead guilty to a potential life sentence in connection with the robberies and agreed to cooperate with authorities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien, the lead prosecutor on the case, declined comment.
Winston Kevin McKesson, Palomares' lawyer, said his client has become a born-again Christian after his arrest and is trying to make amends for his misdeeds.
"He's decided to step forward and try to see that justice is done," said McKesson, who also represented Rafael Perez, the LAPD officer who launched the Rampart division corruption investigation in 1999. "He's trying to get right with God."
The charges are the result of an ongoing federal investigation that began when Palomares was caught buying 10 kilograms of cocaine from undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agents in San Diego in 2001.
Palomares and his cohorts dressed in police uniforms, drove, police cars and flashed their badges during many of the robberies, according to the documents.
During the spree, at least two men were shot with stun guns, while another man was beaten with a police baton, had a gun shoved in his mouth and was burned with a lighter, the Times reported.
The group sold the more than 700 pounds of marijuana, 50 kilos of cocaine, and an assortment of firearms and jewelry that it collected, the court papers state.
The officers used surveillance teams to watch for police or witnesses and would often handcuff their victims.
Under his plea deal, Palomares can only earn a reduction in his sentence if the prosecution finds that he has been truthful and has provided "substantial assistance" to their investigation.
Prosecutors have already been able to corroborate much of his allegations through outside sources, the Times reported.
The robbery crew was made up of about 20 members, including family and friends of Palomares.
Among them were five officers on active-duty at the time of the spree. Two were members of the Los Angeles Police Department, one of whom was later fired for unrelated misconduct and another who resigned. Two more were Long Beach officers assigned to desk duties pending the outcome of the federal investigation.
The fifth was a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who now works as a prison guard at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.
Palomares, who joined the LAPD in 1993, was a former Golden Gloves boxer who sparred with such fighters as Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley.
He was among a number of officers identified by Rafael Perez in 1999, but Palomares was never criminally charged in the Rampart scandal and the majority of his criminal activity took place while he was under investigation, according to court documents.
Palomares pleaded guilty to the San Diego drug charges last year. The investigation into the robbery ring remains ongoing.
At his sentencing, Palomares said he regretted his crime. He said he started committing robberies to provide for his five young children after alcohol and pain pill addictions forced him go on disability at the LAPD.
