A Los Angeles police officer was convicted Monday of perjury for filing a false police report about a 2019 drink-driving arrest in Hollywood.
The jury deliberated for two hours before finding Officer Alejandro Castillo, 50, guilty of two felonies. He faces up to four years and eight months in state prison, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
“When an officer lies in the course of their investigation, it can have devastating consequences, including wrongful imprisonment and sometimes wrongful convictions,” Dist. Attorney Jorge Gascon said in a statement. “We can’t have the people we trust take away a person’s freedom lying in their official capacity.”
Castillo, a 15-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, was arrested in July 2021 after the city attorney’s office raised concerns about the officer’s body camera during the Oct. 18 DUI arrest. 2019.
Castillo allegedly pulled over the driver after the man made an unsafe left turn and nearly caused an accident. The driver was given a field sobriety test and was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
Investigators found that the officer’s body camera showed the driver waited for all vehicles to pass before turning left, according to the district attorney’s office.
No DUI charges were ever filed against the driver.
Castillo is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12.
