Ex-police officer and sister-in-law sentenced to jail time in 2016 Huntington Beach brawl

A former Illinois police officer and his sister-in-law were sentenced Monday to jail time and ordered to complete an alcohol treatment program in connection with a 2016 brawl in Huntington Beach.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard King sentenced Arthur Edward Roman, 30, of Tinley Park, Ill., to a year in jail.

Jessica Monique Roman, 30, of Lake Forest in south Orange County was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

In addition to the alcohol treatment program, both were placed on three years’ probation, according to court records.

An Orange County jury last month found Arthur Roman guilty of felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, plus misdemeanor battery.

Also last month, a jury acquitted Jessica Roman of a felony assault charge but found her guilty of misdemeanor assault and battery.

Arthur Roman was a police officer in Oak Forest, Ill., from October 2014 to May 2016, officials said. He was placed on administrative leave after his arrest.

Martin Mario Roman, 28, Arthur Roman’s brother and Jessica Roman’s husband, pleaded guilty last year to felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, misdemeanor battery and a sentencing enhancement for personally using a deadly weapon. He was sentenced in August to three years’ probation.

Authorities said the three were sitting in a parked car at a 24 Hour Fitness at 303 Third St. in Huntington Beach on Feb. 28, 2016, when Arthur Roman shouted at Karam Aljarrah, then 17, and his brother-in-law Aseem Dghem.

The confrontation escalated to a fight, during which Jessica Roman pushed Aljarrah to the ground and kicked him in the head and Martin Roman stabbed him in the buttocks, prosecutors said.

Aljarrah and Dghem claimed in a civil lawsuit filed against the Romans in February that the fight was racially motivated. According to the complaint, Aljarrah and Dghem were speaking in Arabic and the Romans overheard them.

Aljarrah and Dghem are requesting an unspecified amount of money for general damages, lost wages, emotional distress and attorney fees.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

UPDATES:

12:35 p.m. April 17: This article was updated with Arthur Roman’s time as a police officer in Oak Forest.

This article was originally published at 5:45 p.m. April 16.