Former Deputies Get Probation For Trafficking Pot Seized By Law Enforcement

BAKERSFIELD (AP) -- Two former California sheriff's deputies have been sentenced to probation and community service for selling marijuana that had been seized by law enforcement.

Thirty-four-year-old Derrick Penney and 30-year-old Logan August pleaded guilty in May to drug conspiracy charges.

The former deputies with the Kern County Sheriff's Office faced up to five years in jail. KBAK-TV reports the judge on Monday said he decided for probation because he didn't want the public paying for their incarceration. The judge said the pair had already lost their jobs, pensions and community respect.

Court documents show Penney and August conspired with former Bakersfield police detective Patrick Mara and others to steal marijuana from a sheriff's storage unit.

Mara's former police partner, Damacio Diaz, were sentenced to prison in a separate case for dealing confiscated methamphetamine.