Wed 19 Dec 2007 02:28:52 AM UTC, original submission:
Judge Daum sends wrong message to law enforcement.
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070821/NEWS/70821001
AROUND THE EMPIRE - SONOMA COUNTY
Former sheriff's deputy gets probation on perjury charge
By LORI A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A former Sonoma County sheriff's deputy was sentenced Monday to two years' probation and 200 hours of community service for selling a vehicle a second time after falsely telling the Department of Motor Vehicles that he had lost the title.
A jury convicted Marcus Parker, 36, of one count of perjury last month. He initially faced four other felonies: theft, grand theft, auto theft and receiving stolen property. Judge Elliot Daum dismissed those charges, ruling there wasn't enough evidence.
Prosecutor Lori Frugoli asked Daum to send Parker to jail for 10 days, saying he "breached the trust of the community" and benefited financially from his crime.
Daum gave Parker one day in jail, with credit for one day already served at the time of his arrest. He postponed a decision on restitution.
Frugoli argued that Parker knew he was committing a crime when he signed a form stating "under penalty of perjury" that the title to his 2000 GMC Yukon Denali was lost. He then retrieved the vehicle, which had been impounded after he sold it once, and sold it again later.
Parker received $19,500 for the first sale and $12,500 for the second, according to testimony.
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