By Louis Hansen
The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK, Va. — A former police officer caught stealing from a purported drug dealer was fined and sentenced Thursday to six months in jail.
John K. Hester, a 20-year Navy sailor and an Iraq combat veteran, was caught stealing $140 from an undercover officer posing as a drug dealer.
Judge John C. Morrison fined Hester $1,000 and imposed a five-year sentence with all but six months suspended.
“Your actions in a way have tarnished the actions of good cops,” Morrison told him.
Hester, 44, had been a Norfolk police officer for one year after retiring from the Navy as a petty officer first class.
He resigned from the police force and pleaded guilty in April 2009 to embezzlement by a public officer.
According to an interview transcript signed by Hester and filed with the court, Hester and his partner were working a night shift on May 17, 2007, when they were called to the corner of St. Julian and Courtney avenues to interrupt a suspected drug deal.
Hester patted down the suspect and found drugs in his left front pocket and cash in his right front pocket, according to the transcript.
Hester handed the drugs to his partner and pocketed the cash, according to the transcript.
Back at the police station, Hester turned in only $118 as evidence, according to testimony Thursday. Police investigators immediately questioned him about the missing money .
Defense attorney Andrew Sacks said Hester had no previous criminal record and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from a deployment to Iraq with a Marine Corps unit.
But prosecutor Ron Batliner said Hester denied taking the money before eventually pulling the cash out of his pants. The theft tarnished the reputation of the entire Police Department, he said.
Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2341, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com
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