A jury in Los Angeles convicted former Los Angeles Police Department officer Eric Halem of kidnapping and robbery after he and three alleged accomplices posed as police to steal $350,000 in bitcoin from a 17-year-old during a 2024 home invasion.

His co-defendants have yet to stand trial and maintain their innocence. One, Gabby Ben, has twice been convicted of fraud and is alleged to have ties to Israeli organized crime. At a bail hearing in November, Ben, 51, shrugged and shook his head when Brownstone said he was affiliated with the "Israeli mafia."

According to prosecutors, Halem and three other men rolled up to the Koreatown high-rise in a green Range Rover, and an orange Lamborghini Urus rented from a business tied to Halem. Wearing vests that identified them as officers, they allegedly used an access code to get to the 18th floor, then forced their way into the teen’s unit.

Prosecutors said the former Downey police officer ran through a red light at more than 80 mph before the crash.

A Los Angeles police officer who said he was too injured to complete any work was not too injured to jump out of airplanes, prosecutors allege.

A police officer was injured in a shooting Monday evening near the Metro Gold Line station in Pasadena, law enforcement said. The shooting was reported at about 7:30 p.m. near Sierra Madre Villa and the 210 Freeway,

Police say thieves can remove wiring from a single pole in minutes, but repairs can take months or even years, depending on damage and resources.