Los Angeles County jurors found Eric Halem, a former Los Angeles Police Department Officer, guilty of both kidnapping and robbery during a home invasion in 2024 that targeted an adolescent cryptocurrency owner.
You can also find out more about the following: verdict After a two week trial at the Los Angeles County Superior Court where prosecutors claimed that Halem (38), and three other alleged accomplices, posed in the role of police officers in order to gain access to an apartment high up in Koreatown, they were convicted.
They restrained the 17-year old and his girlfriend, and then stole a drive that contained private keys for about $350,000 worth of bitcoin.
According to the victim’s testimony, which was given under the name Daniel, the men had threatened him with death if he didn’t hand over the device. The group, which was identified as being police, wore vests and obtained an access code from the conspirator that rented out the device to the teenager. The Los Angeles Times
The elevator took them to the 18th-floor and they entered their apartment in the morning of December 28, 2024.
Daniel’s girlfriend, who was also handcuffed by the LAPD, was then subdued before Daniel was cuffed. The suspects later demanded that the hard drive containing the bitcoin be handed over. Under threat of being killed, prosecutors said that the teen complied with their demands.
Halem worked for the Los Angeles Police Department from 1993 to 2022. He was a reserve police officer at the time. At trial, evidence was presented that showed he ran a luxury rental car business called DriveLA and pursued several other endeavors including an application for actors to remotely audition and discussions regarding a reality TV project.
The jury deliberated less than one day before returning guilty verdicts. kidnapping The charges against Halem include robbery. Halem’s sentencing is set for March 31. The prosecution has said that charges Carry the potential of a lifetime sentence.
A policeman’s oath ‘violation’
Jane Brownstone said in closing arguments that Halem broke the oath taken as a cop. She cited text messages Halem sent shortly after the robbery, in which he claimed to be monitoring radio traffic.
Halem’s message was sent after the arrest of two suspected accomplices. He wrote that they knew what they did. “talking” This is what you should know “Someone I know fed wise called me,” Evidence presented at court.
Megan Maitia was Halem’s lawyer. She criticized both the prosecution and the investigation. Megan Maitia argued detectives relied solely on a small number of text messages culled from huge volumes and did not corroborate Halem’s story.
Daniel confessed during the testimony that his bitcoin holdings were obtained through fraud. This admission, however, did not invalidate the charges of robbery.
Maitia has also challenged the prosecutor’s depiction of the group in the media as organized criminals. The trial testimony revealed that the suspects arrived at the scene driving a green Range Rover, and an orange Lamborghini Urus equipped with GPS tracking devices and registered to Halem’s rental company.
Why, Halem asked, did he use vehicles which could have been traced back to him?
Halem failed to testify. The defense did not call any witnesses.
The co-defendants of the accused haven’t been tried yet and they have all maintained their innocence. Gabby Ben (51), one of the defendants, is a fraud convict.
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Source: bitcoinmagazine.com
