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Thieving ex-officer gets house arrest
He stole from man, 87, to support drug habit
At first blush, Eric Washington's criminal case looks like a run-of-the-mill example of burglary.
He was convicted of stealing about $1,400 from an elderly man he met in 2007.
Former police Detective Eric Washington listens as he is sentenced Wednesday in District Court.
But Washington isn't a typical defendant. A nine-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, he was assigned to help the victim in a home loan scam.
Instead of helping the 87-year-old man, Washington drained money from the victim's bank account to support a prescription drug addiction.
On Wednesday, a judge sentenced the 32-year-old former detective to four to 13 years in prison but suspended the sentence, meaning he won't spend time behind bars if he stays out of trouble for five years.
District Judge Jennifer Togliatti also ordered Washington to be placed on house arrest for six months and urged him to write an open letter of apology to his former police colleagues.
The judge also rebuked Washington for betraying the public's trust and dishonoring police officers by committing the crimes.
"You blew everything for $1,411. Everything," Togliatti said.
Washington, who appeared in court, apologized to the victim. He explained that he was injured while on the job and became addicted to Lortab, a prescription painkiller. Rather than seek help, he allowed his addiction to get out of hand, he said.
"I'm sorry. I ask for forgiveness," said Washington, who resigned from the department in May.
Las Vegas police arrested Washington in December 2007. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony charges of burglary, grand larceny and fraudulent use of a credit card.
Defense attorney Kevin Kelly said that before taking Lortab, Washington had never ingested a mind-altering substance. He described Washington as a clean-cut man who had never been in trouble before the criminal case.
The victim was a man who suffered from dementia and called police seeking help with a home mortgage scam, said Lee Drizin, an attorney representing the Clark County Public Guardian's office. The office helps individuals who need a guardian.
Washington convinced the man to move money into a bank account that Washington was able to access.
Over a three-day period, Washington tried to withdraw money 17 times from the man's account. He got funds out of the account six times, Drizin said.
The bank alerted the victim. In turn, the man informed Washington because he believed the detective was helping him.
Washington convinced the victim to pull out money from the account and keep it in his house. Washington then tried several times to steal the money, authorities said.
"This isn't something that was spur of the moment and an impulse," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent. "This was something that was cold, calculated. A complete betrayal of trust."
Besides the house arrest, Togliatti ordered Washington to complete 200 hours of community service and pay back the $1,411 he took from the victim.
She also ordered him to attend the drug court program, which allows qualified defendants to stay out of jail and receive counseling.
Togliatti said drug court could be hard for him because he might run into a person he once arrested. But the difficulty of the program was the point, she said.
"I expect you to recognize that you're not better than them," she said. "You're one of them."
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He stole from man, 87, to support drug habit
At first blush, Eric Washington's criminal case looks like a run-of-the-mill example of burglary.
He was convicted of stealing about $1,400 from an elderly man he met in 2007.
Former police Detective Eric Washington listens as he is sentenced Wednesday in District Court.
But Washington isn't a typical defendant. A nine-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, he was assigned to help the victim in a home loan scam.
Instead of helping the 87-year-old man, Washington drained money from the victim's bank account to support a prescription drug addiction.
On Wednesday, a judge sentenced the 32-year-old former detective to four to 13 years in prison but suspended the sentence, meaning he won't spend time behind bars if he stays out of trouble for five years.
District Judge Jennifer Togliatti also ordered Washington to be placed on house arrest for six months and urged him to write an open letter of apology to his former police colleagues.
The judge also rebuked Washington for betraying the public's trust and dishonoring police officers by committing the crimes.
"You blew everything for $1,411. Everything," Togliatti said.
Washington, who appeared in court, apologized to the victim. He explained that he was injured while on the job and became addicted to Lortab, a prescription painkiller. Rather than seek help, he allowed his addiction to get out of hand, he said.
"I'm sorry. I ask for forgiveness," said Washington, who resigned from the department in May.
Las Vegas police arrested Washington in December 2007. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony charges of burglary, grand larceny and fraudulent use of a credit card.
Defense attorney Kevin Kelly said that before taking Lortab, Washington had never ingested a mind-altering substance. He described Washington as a clean-cut man who had never been in trouble before the criminal case.
The victim was a man who suffered from dementia and called police seeking help with a home mortgage scam, said Lee Drizin, an attorney representing the Clark County Public Guardian's office. The office helps individuals who need a guardian.
Washington convinced the man to move money into a bank account that Washington was able to access.
Over a three-day period, Washington tried to withdraw money 17 times from the man's account. He got funds out of the account six times, Drizin said.
The bank alerted the victim. In turn, the man informed Washington because he believed the detective was helping him.
Washington convinced the victim to pull out money from the account and keep it in his house. Washington then tried several times to steal the money, authorities said.
"This isn't something that was spur of the moment and an impulse," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent. "This was something that was cold, calculated. A complete betrayal of trust."
Besides the house arrest, Togliatti ordered Washington to complete 200 hours of community service and pay back the $1,411 he took from the victim.
She also ordered him to attend the drug court program, which allows qualified defendants to stay out of jail and receive counseling.
Togliatti said drug court could be hard for him because he might run into a person he once arrested. But the difficulty of the program was the point, she said.
"I expect you to recognize that you're not better than them," she said. "You're one of them."
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