A former Santa Ana police officer, Steven Lopez, 31, was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison on Monday, April 22. He also faces a $20,000 fine and one year of supervised release after prison.
Lopez pleaded guilty in 2021 to a single felony count of bribery. From August 2019 to November 2020, he received $128,000 in bribes from an unnamed crime figure. In return, Lopez promised to keep law enforcement officers from inspecting, searching, or shutting down the man’s illegal gambling operations.
On at least two occasions, Lopez was on duty and in uniform when he accepted bribe payments. One meeting took place late at night on September 14, 2019, in a parking structure across the street from the Santa Ana Police Department’s headquarters.
The Santa Ana Police Department has stated that they cooperated with the FBI in the investigation. Lopez joined the force in April 2016 and was placed on administrative leave when he was charged in December 2020.
