A Los Angeles County jury has convicted former Los Angeles Police Department officer Eric Halem of kidnapping and robbery after prosecutors said he and three alleged accomplices posed as police to steal roughly $350,000 in Bitcoin from a 17-year-old during a 2024 home invasion.
The verdict followed a two-week trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where jurors heard that the group used police-style vests and an access code to enter a Koreatown high-rise apartment in the early hours of December 28, 2024.
Once inside, the suspects restrained the teenager and his girlfriend, placed her in LAPD-issued handcuffs and demanded a hard drive containing private keys to the bitcoin holdings, with the victim testifying he complied under threat of being shot.
Prosecutors argued Halem violated his oath as a police officer, pointing to text messages in which he allegedly referenced monitoring police radio traffic and expressed concern that co-defendants were “talking” after arrests.
Halem, who served 13 years with the LAPD and left the department in 2022, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31, with the charges carrying the possibility of a life sentence.
The defence challenged the investigation, arguing detectives relied on selective text evidence and questioning why Halem would use vehicles registered to his rental business if he had planned the robbery, while his co-defendants have yet to stand trial and maintain their innocence.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $68,179.68.