State Narcotics Agent Charged With Stealing $33,000

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Authorities have filed criminal charges against an agent with the state's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, alleging he stole $33,000 during an internal investigation last week.

Gabriel Noel Baltodano, 35, has been charged with two counts of grand theft and embezzlement by a public or private officer and one count of filing a false police report, Deputy District Attorney Alfred Coletta said.

Officials with the California Attorney General's Office said Baltodano's fellow agents were alerted to the possibility he was stealing proceeds from the narcotics suspect last Tuesday and Thursday, prompting an internal investigation.

The nine-year Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement veteran is scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon after his arrest last Thursday.

Prosecutors are asking Baltodano's bail be set at $125,000.

If convicted, Baltodano is facing up to four years and four months in state prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.

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