Former OC Deputy Convicted Of Filing False Police Report

SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — A former Orange County Sheriff's deputy pleaded guilty Friday to filing a false police report for failing to submit evidence into booking.

Angelina Cortez, 41, was charged with one felony count last September after prosecutors said she took a credit card from a suspect and later gave it to her son who then used it.

Over the objection of prosecutors, an Orange County Superior Court judge reduced the charge to a misdemeanor and sentenced Cortez to 120 hours of community service and one year informal probation, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office.

"The public must be able to trust that law enforcement officers will carry out their duties lawfully,"  District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. "When the law is broken by the very people who are entrusted to enforce it, the integrity of the entire criminal justice system is compromised. We will not allow the rule of law to be abused by someone in a position of power who chooses to prey on the vulnerable."