Officer Accused of Stealing Cocaine
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The Inglewood Police Department property vault, usually used to store evidence from crime scenes, recently became the scene of the crime, officials said, when a veteran policeman was caught stealing packets of rock cocaine.
Patrolman John Hirooka was videotaped by a hidden camera stealing the drugs, according to a department spokesman. He now faces two felony charges and the loss of his job.
Hirooka, 34, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing March 28 in Los Angeles Municipal Court on one count of cocaine possession and one count of destruction of public records. The second charge arises from the loss of a labeled envelope that held some of the drugs, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Healey said.
Hirooka faces up to three years in state prison if convicted.
The rock cocaine in the police vault had been impounded during several street arrests and was scheduled for disposal, internal affairs Sgt. Ron Wood said.
On Jan. 13, the supervisor of the property room and evidence vault noticed that several envelopes were missing, Wood said.
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