Deputy Sentenced to Year of House Arrest
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who served as a Van Nuys court bailiff was sentenced Friday to a year under house arrest for stealing laptop computers from office supply stores.
John Michael Olivas, 29, had faced as many as five years in state prison after pleading guilty July 3 to four counts of commercial burglary. But Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler, noting that defendants generally don’t serve their full terms, sentenced Olivas to one year of home detention in addition to 500 hours of community service.
Olivas also was ordered to pay full restitution to three stores he victimized.
The deputy was accused of stealing the computers from Office Depot and Staples stores in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys as well as from an Office Max in Las Vegas.
Prosecutors said he sold the stolen merchandise at computer fairs, where he identified himself to buyers as a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy.
The thefts took place between Jan. 10 and Jan. 25, prosecutors said. Olivas was arrested by sheriff’s investigators with the Internal Criminal Affairs Bureau.
Olivas is no longer with the department, according to a Sheriff’s Department spokesman.
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