Deputy Accused of Computer Thefts
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VAN NUYS — A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who serves as a court bailiff faces nine felony counts in connection with a series of alleged thefts of laptop computers from office supply stores, the Los Angeles district attorney’s office said Friday.
John Michael Olivas, 29, was scheduled to be arraigned on five counts of commercial burglary and four counts of grand theft in a Van Nuys Municipal courtroom Friday, but a judge rescheduled the arraignment for March 24.
The deputy, who is free on $15,000 bail, was accused of stealing the computers from Office Depot and Staples stores in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys and an Office Max store in Las Vegas.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryant E. Bushling of the Special Investigations Division said Olivas sold the stolen goods at computer fairs and told buyers he was a sheriff’s deputy.
The thefts allegedly occurred between Jan. 10 and Jan. 25. Olivas, who is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal case, was arrested by the department’s Internal Affairs investigators Feb. 9.
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