Pubdate: Tue, 15 Mar 2016 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 Author: Scott Schwebke 3 OFFICERS CHARGED IN 2015 POT SHOP RAID Santa Ana police officers face charges of petty theft and vandalism 10 months after being caught on video eating snacks and threatening a disabled woman during a raid at a local pot shop. The Orange County District Attorney's Office said Monday it is filing one misdemeanor count of theft against officers Brandon Matthew Sontag, 31; Nicole Lynn Quijas, 37; and Jorge Arroyo, 32, for allegedly stealing cookies and other snacks during the raid. Sontag also faces a misdemeanor count of vandalism for allegedly breaking some of the store's surveillance cameras. If convicted, Arroyo and Quijas each face maximum sentences of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Sontag, if convicted of both counts, faces up to 18 months in jail and a $2,000 fine. The officers are scheduled to be arraigned April 11 in Orange County Superior Court. The officers could not be reached Monday. John Franks, president of the Santa Ana Police Officers Association, said the officers' attorneys requested the union to decline comment. The charges follow a 10-month investigation by the District Attorney's Office that included a review of unedited surveillance video of the May 26, 2015, raid at Sky High Holistic, a business the city has accused of selling marijuana without a permit. A separate investigation by the Santa Ana Police Department has been completed, but its results are not yet public, said police spokesman Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. All three officers remain on paid leave. Bertagna said their status with the department likely will be determined after an administrative appeals process is completed and a formal review by Santa Ana Police Chief Carlos Rojas. Video showing Santa Ana police officers surfaced last year, soon after the late-afternoon raid during which several officers served a search warrant at Sky High. The video, viewed more than a million times, shows police breaking through Sky High's front door and ordering at least a half-dozen customers to the floor. "Everybody on the ground!" one officer shouts. "Hands on your head!" A portion of the video also shows officers making demeaning remarks about Sky High volunteer Marla James, 55. In the video, James, an amputee, is seen sitting in a wheelchair during the raid. "Did you punch that one-legged old benita?" a male officer asks a female officer, apparently referring to James. "I was about to kick her in her (expletive) nub," a female officer replies, according to subtitles accompanying the video clip. The video also shows officers disabling the 16 video cameras in public view at Sky High the day of the raid. The store had four other cameras, hidden from view, that continued to record events inside the store. Sontag is accused of damaging five of the disabled surveillance cameras by banging and smashing the camera lenses. Each camera was valued at $80 to $100, prosecutors said. The video also shows an officer unwrapping a small package and putting something in his mouth. According to the charges filed Monday, Sontag, Quijas and Arroyo entered Sky High's break room and took snacks, including cookies and protein bars, available to staff. Prosecutors said the trio consumed some of the items and took extra cookies with them before leaving. Prosecutors said the three also shared some protein bars with other Santa Ana officers, but that that there was insufficient evidence to say if other officers knew the snacks came from the dispensary. The D.A.'s Office declined to say if the officers were tested to see if the snacks they allegedly ate contained marijuana. Prosecutors said there was no evidence that snacks eaten during the raid contained any drugs. Matthew Pappas, a Long Beach attorney who represents Sky High and other dispensaries and who publicized the video - said he is pleased charges were filed against the officers. "They should be held accountable," he said. James, the Sky High volunteer, said she doesn't feel vindicated by the charges filed Monday. Still, she added, she's glad officers face legal action. "Even misdemeanors are good. I'm happy prosecutors paid attention." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom