Ex-cop accused of stealing credit cards from people visiting inmates
A former Los Angeles Police Department officer has been indicted for allegedly stealing credit and debit cards from people visiting inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.
“Edmond Babaians, a 15-year LAPD veteran, is charged with stealing debit and credit cards from four individuals as they entered through the security checkpoint at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles between approximately July 14 and July 23, 2023,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
He also made purchases with those cards, the release added.
Babaians, 43, faces four charges, three felonies and one misdemeanor count of unlawful use of access cards.
“Law enforcement is entrusted with protecting and serving the community, and the alleged actions of former officer Babaians in the course of his duties severely breaches this trust,” District Attorney George Gascón said in the release. “Officers of the law are expected to embody the highest standards of integrity and duty when they protect the residents of Los Angeles County. Departure from these rigorous standards undermines the public’s trust in law enforcement and will not be tolerated.”
He is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on Friday.
If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to a maximum of five years and four months in county jail.
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