2 San Francisco police officers convicted of corruption

Police chief Greg Suhr (left) comments about the guilty verdicts handed down in federal court against Sergeant Ian Furminger and officer Edmond Robles in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, December 5, 2014. Police chief Greg Suhr (left) comments about the guilty verdicts handed down in federal court against Sergeant Ian Furminger and officer Edmond Robles in San Francisco, Calif., on Friday, December 5, 2014. Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close 2 San Francisco police officers convicted of corruption 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

A San Francisco police corruption scandal, triggered by surveillance videos that appeared to show officers as thieves, registered its first verdicts Friday when a federal court jury found two veteran officers guilty of stealing property and thousands of dollars in cash from drug-dealer suspects to enrich themselves and defraud the city.

The jury took 3½ days of deliberations to unanimously find Officer Edmond Robles guilty of five felony charges and Sgt. Ian Furminger guilty of four. Jurors acquitted them of four charges, including conspiracy to deprive the public of their honest services, and deadlocked on a theft charge against Furminger.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer scheduled sentencing for Feb. 23. Furminger’s lawyer, Brian Getz, said after the verdict that the crimes carry lengthy prison terms under federal sentencing guidelines.

The trial took place more than three years after San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi released videos that appeared to show officers walking out of cheap single-room-occupancy hotels with bags of residents’ possessions.

The resulting investigation led to the indictments in February of Robles, Furminger and four other officers. One, Reynaldo Vargas, who appeared in the videos, pleaded guilty to four felonies on Oct. 21 and was the prosecution’s main witness against Robles and Furminger. Charges are pending against the others, who worked at the Southern Police Station.

Over 100 cases dismissed

Adachi said prosecutors had to dismiss more than 100 criminal cases because of police conduct exposed by the videos.

Friday’s verdicts, Adachi said in a statement, “bring a measure of justice to the victims, who were ripped off, falsely arrested and disbelieved for far too long. These 12 jurors sent a message — that there are consequences for bullies who victimize the poor and powerless under color of authority.”

Police Chief Greg Suhr said the officers “have not only betrayed the public’s trust but also the trust of the honest, hard-working men and women of this proud department.” He suspended Robles and Furminger without pay after their indictment in February, and said Friday he would seek to have them fired immediately.

Robles and Furminger, who worked in the plainclothes unit at the Mission District station, were charged with taking and dividing up thousands of dollars found during searches of drug dealers and their homes. Vargas testified about a series of incidents in 2009 in which he or Robles, his partner, swiped cash and other items from the homes of dealers they had arrested or were investigating, and shared the proceeds with Furminger, their supervisor, rather than booking the property into evidence.

On one occasion in May 2009, Vargas said, the officers searched the home of a drug dealer in Newark, target of a federal investigation, and Vargas found $30,000 in cash buried in the backyard. He said he, Robles and Furminger divided the loot on the drive back home. The next day, according to prosecution testimony, Robles deposited $6,000 in cash into his bank account.

On another occasion, Vargas said he took two Apple gift cards from a dealer’s home and used one of them to buy an iPhone, while Robles used the other to get an iPad for his girlfriend. She testified that she received it.

In closing arguments Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Hemann√ called Vargas a “dirty cop” who nevertheless could be believed because his testimony was backed up by independent evidence, like Robles’ bank deposit.

Defense lawyers described Vargas as a liar who framed their clients to get a lower sentence. The Police Department fired Vargas in May 2012 for falsifying time sheets.

Officers didn’t testify

Neither Robles nor Furminger testified during their trial. Robles, 46, of Danville, has spent 22 years with the Police Department, and Furminger, 47, of Pleasant Hill, is a 19-year veteran.

Apart from Vargas, the prosecution relied mainly on testimony from acknowledged criminals who acted as police informants.

One, Cesar Hernandez, a large-scale drug dealer, said Robles paid him in cash and drugs for his information, and told him he could keep selling narcotics with impunity as long as he continued to cooperate.

Jurors convicted Robles and Furminger of the central charges in the case: that they had conspired to steal money and property that should have been turned over to the city, and to deprive suspects of their rights.

Guilty of wire fraud

They were acquitted of charges involving their dealings with another prosecution witness, Sergio Sanchez, who sold stolen property at the corner of 20th and Mission streets while also serving as a police informant. Both officers had been accused of depriving the city of their honest services by allowing Sanchez to stay in business, and Furminger was also charged with extortion for allegedly buying Sanchez’s goods at a discount in exchange for protecting him from prosecution.

They were also convicted of wire fraud, for using electronic communications during their thefts, and acquitted of dealing drugs.

In a post-trial debriefing, one juror explained the mixed verdicts to lawyers. “We sort of believed (Vargas’) overall narrative, but we had a hard time on some of the details,” he said.

Robles’ lawyer, Teresa Caffese, said the outcome was disappointing, but “we respect the jury’s verdict.” Getz said Furminger accepted the verdict, but would ask Breyer to overturn it and grant a new trial.

Chronicle staff writer Kale Williams contributed to this report.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko