Posted on 05/07/2009 5:14:39 PM PDT by BBell
He admits ripping off Hispanic motorists
A former Slidell police officer was put on probation for five years after pleading guilty to pulling over Hispanic motorists and stealing money from them while on duty.
Jonathan Lutman, 26, of Slidell, admitted to 12 counts of malfeasance in office in state court in Covington, the district attorney's office reported Wednesday.
Lutman became the target of an investigation last summer after a pair of men came forward with allegations that he had stolen cash from them during traffic stops.
He was arrested by members of his own department July 11 after an internal investigation determined he stole as much as $3,000 from several motorists during traffic stops.
He resigned that same day, after two years on the force, according to authorities.
The St. Tammany Parish district attorney's office sent out a news release Wednesday afternoon stating that Lutman had pleaded guilty in front of state Judge Peter Garcia on March 31. The Slidell Police Department apparently was not aware of the plea until a reporter contacted Police Chief Freddy Drennan for comment Wednesday.
Garcia sentenced Lutman to five years in prison and suspended that sentence, ordering Lutman to instead serve five years of probation, make restitution of $2,940 and complete 200 hours of community service.
The charge of malfeasance in office carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Assistant District Attorney Joey Oubre prosecuted the case.
Police said that between April and June 2008, Lutman repeatedly pulled over Hispanic motorists while on the job. During the stops, he demanded that they hand over their wallets, which he emptied of cash before giving them back, authorities have said.
Authorities estimated that $2,500 to $3,000 was taken during the traffic stops.
Drennan said Lutman had targeted Spanish-speaking motorists apparently
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Can you beleive probation for gross vehicular manslaughter and hit and run causing death?
Liberal ideology should preclude someone/anyone from being a judge.
Young, ego, badge, gun. - Makes for a bad mix and no leadership at any level to teach the right things.
Course the union pays them all very well.
I was going to pass on this since the headline stated that the story was “unbelievable.” I then, rightly, figured it was a pompous Freeper who had decided he could write it better.
Adding the word “unbelievable” makes one pompous?
Nothing new, nothing to see, move along.
Sounds to me that with better management and oversight, these kids would not get into trouble in the first place. That was my point.
I get your point.
I'd bet a month's pay that the judge is a conservative "law and order" type who think that cops have hard jobs and should be given miles of slack for any crimes that they may commit. You know because they have a hard job.
Time should be served.
Three years, at least.
When “Law Enforcment Officers” are caught breaking the law, while on duty,they should be given extra time. Just as those people who kill, or injure a police officer, while on duty.
When ever an LEO gets caught I always have to wonder how much they got away with before they were finally caught.
And put in jail for a very long time!
Slidell, not unlike New Orleans.
Down around Kingman Arizona, they have a good thing going.
They stop you as far away from Kingman that their jurisdiction will permit, if you have out of state plates.
They accuse you of having a twitch in your eye. They ask you if you have been drinking. When you tell them no, and you blow a zero on a breathalyzer, they accuse you of smoking pot. Then they make you go through the whole sobriety test gymnastics, and if you don’t do them perfectly (in my case I have a hard time standing on one foot), they arrest you for a DUI. Then they tow your car, for almost $600, the rate set at $7 a mile. That is why they do this at the furthest point that their jurisdiction permits.
After spending 24 hours in jail, I went to pick up my car. The owner of the towing company said to me “How do you like my good friend officer Smith?
Now tell me that the cops aren’t getting a cut of the towing fee.....
They had no probable cause to stop me, no evidence to accuse me and no reason to arrest me.
And since you are from out of state, it makes no financial sense to defend yourself, so you are automatically found guilty.
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I could go on but I won't. BTW, why don't you try searching the article minus the (unbelievable) part. I'll bet it will come right up.
Tell prima donna, do all the barf alerts bother you too?
If your not going to comment on the article with anything other then your lame whining about the headline just piss off O.K.
I'm too busy.
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