LAPD Arrests Officer in Thefts From Drivers

A veteran Los Angeles police officer was arrested Monday on suspicion of stealing money from six motorists while he was on duty, authorities said.

Officer Ernest John Orona, a 12-year LAPD veteran working out of the Hollenbeck Division, was charged with six counts of grand theft, authorities said. The 40-year-old officer was released on $150,000 bail, district attorney officials said.

Orona, who was on duty, in uniform and driving a squad car, allegedly detained Latino motorists early in the morning and stole their money, police said. The incidents, which took place in 1997 and 1998, occurred in downtown Los Angeles--not in the area patrolled by Hollenbeck officers.

“He would make traffic stops and come in contact with the victims’ wallets,” said Cmdr. David J. Kalish, the LAPD’s spokesman. “Most of the time, the victims were not aware money was taken until later.”

Orona, who is a training officer, is charged with stopping three cars while on his graveyard shift and robbing six victims of small amounts of cash. But, Kalish said, police believe that there are additional victims who have been reluctant to report the incidents.

Chief Bernard C. Parks said most of the victims spoke only Spanish.

“He targeted the most vulnerable,” Parks said. “New arrivals who were not familiar with the legal system and who are less willing to come forward.”

The investigation began last spring when several victims reported the thefts, Kalish said. They worked with a police artist, and a composite drawing was done. It was, Kalish said, “a match” for Orona.

Orona was under surveillance, authorities said, when he robbed the sixth victim.

“While these types of allegations are aberrations when they occur, the department moves aggressively to weed out corruption,” Kalish said.

Orona will be arraigned March 1. If convicted, he faces a sentence of six years in prison.

Police ask that anyone with information about similar cases contact them at (213) 485-2504.