18 months in prison for ex-cop
A former Yuba City police officer involved in a drug trafficking scheme was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison.
Harminder Phagura, 37, pleaded guilty in June to one count of federal programs bribery.
U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. characterized Phagura’s conduct as reprehensible and a breach of the public trust, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
While Phagura was employed as a Yuba City police officer, he exchanged sensitive information gained from his official position for money. Co-defendant Gursharan “Rocky” Phagura gave the information to a government source, who was posing as a cocaine trafficker.
Federal prosecutors urged the 18month sentence, while a probation officer recommended 51 months.
“It is Phagura’s former position as a police officer that makes the nature of the offense so egregious,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memo. “In an ideal world, Phagura would have been collecting information against his co-defendant and the confidential informant, hoping to make a case against them for the protection of the public.
“Instead, he believed he was enabling those same people. Whether he did it for the money or for – in his words – his affection for an old friend is immaterial. He abandoned the public trust and tarnished the community’s image of law enforcement. Therefore, a highend sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment is a just sentence for Har- minder Phagura.”
On July 29, 2014, federal agents observed Gursharan Phagura meet with Harminder Phagura in a Yuba City Police vehicle, according to the federal press release. At the same time, Gursharan Phagura and the government source were exchanging text messages regarding police presence in the area.
Agents then caused an alert to be transmitted on the Yuba City Police Department’s dispatch system. Within a few minutes, the government source received text messages indicating, in coded language, that law enforcement was in the area.
Over the course of several undercover operations, the government source paid a total of $6,000 for the information.
Gursharan Phagura is accused of possessing with intent to distribute cocaine. His next court date is March 31.