A former District of Columbia police officer has been sentenced to six months of probation and community service for stealing almost $1,000 in money orders from a woman who was under arrest.
Alexander Rodriguez, 33, was sentenced in D.C. Superior Court Friday after pleading guilty in November to second-degree theft. He resigned as part of the plea and paid $1,200 in restitution, covering the money orders and related costs and the dollar equivalent of a day of lost pay for which the victim was not compensated by her employer.
He was ordered to perform 40 hours of community service and placed on six months of probation.
The theft occurred early on July 4 when Rodriguez responded to a traffic accident involving a woman accused of driving under the influence, prosecutors said.
After the woman was arrested and taken to the Sixth District police station, Rodriguez removed from her purse two money orders while taking an inventory and did not list the money orders on the inventory. The woman then had the money orders traced through Western Union.
