Former Santa Ana officer gets 1 year for $128,000 in bribes

A former Santa Ana police officer was sentenced on Monday to a year and a day in federal prison for accepting $128,000 in bribes from a crime figure who sought to keep law enforcement away from his illegal businesses.

Steven Lopez, 31, of Chino was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine and serve one year in supervised release following prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Lopez pleaded guilty three years ago in downtown Los Angeles to a single felony count of bribery.

From August 2019 to November 2020, Lopez received $128,000 in bribes from the unnamed crime figure in return for a promise to keep law enforcement officers from inspecting, searching or shutting down the man's illegal gambling operations.

In at least two instances cited in court papers, Lopez was on duty and in uniform when he accepted bribe payments from the man, including late in the evening of Sept. 14, 2019, when they met on the top floor of a parking structure directly across the street from the Santa Ana Police Department's headquarters.

Santa Ana police said, at the time Lopez pleaded guilty in 2021, that they cooperated with the FBI and provided any assistance necessary “to ensure that justice is served.”

Lopez joined the force in April 2016 and was placed on administrative leave when he was charged in December 2020.