U.S. judge upholds theft, fraud verdicts of 2 SF officers

FILE-- San Francisco police sgt. Ian Furminger (left) speaks to press in back of the Phillip Burton Federal Building & United States Courthouse in San Francisco, California on Monday, February 23, 2015. Sgt. Ian Furminger was found guilty of four felony charges today. At right is his lawyer Brian Getz. less FILE-- San Francisco police sgt. Ian Furminger (left) speaks to press in back of the Phillip Burton Federal Building & United States Courthouse in San Francisco, California on Monday, February 23, 2015. Sgt. ... more Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close U.S. judge upholds theft, fraud verdicts of 2 SF officers 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the convictions of two San Francisco police officers who stole property and thousands of dollars in cash from suspected drug dealers.

A jury convicted Sgt. Ian Furminger and Officer Edmond Robles in December 2014 of conspiring to deprive suspects of their rights and take property that should have been turned over to the city as evidence, and of two counts of fraud. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer sentenced Furminger to 41 months in prison and Robles to 39 months.

A third officer, Reynaldo Vargas, testified for the prosecution about a series of incidents in 2009 in which he and Robles, often accompanied by Furminger, went to crime scenes, conducted illegal searches and swiped drugs, gift cards and cash, which they divided among themselves. Vargas pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in prison.

In Friday’s ruling, a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected defense claims that the officers should have been tried separately. In view of the conspiracy charge against both men, Breyer made an appropriate decision to try them together, the court said, and there was no serious risk of jury prejudice from a joint trial.

The court also upheld the fraud charges, saying the officers had told suspects they were conducting legal searches and arrests “when their true aim was to commit theft.”

Furminger challenged his sentence, arguing that he had been only a minor participant in the thefts. But while Furminger was less directly involved in some of the thefts and may not have shared fully in the proceeds, he had a “critical role in the criminal venture” because of his position as a supervisor, the court said.

Furminger’s lawyer, Mark Goldrosen, said he was disappointed by the ruling and disagreed with the court’s conclusions.