Probation Officer Stole Cash During Santa Ana Home Raids, DA Says
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) – An Orange County probation officer was arrested Thursday on charges of stealing cash while conducting search warrants in Santa Ana homes.
Juan Manuel Rodriguez, 46, was charged Tuesday with a felony count of grand theft and two misdemeanor counts of petty theft.
During one execution of a search warrant on Aug. 8 in Santa Ana he allegedly took $150 in cash from a resident's wallet, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. When the victim, who was occupied at the time of the alleged theft, realized the money was missing then reported it to sheriff's deputies.
That prompted sheriff's officials to set up a sting with a surveillance video in a "bait car" that contained $1,200 in cash, prosecutors said.
Rodriguez, while engaged in the execution of a search warrant on Aug. 10 in Santa Ana, went into the car and took about $1,000, leaving only $1 bills in the vehicle, prosecutors alleged.
Rodriguez could face up to four years behind bars if convicted at trial.
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