Ex-deputy sentenced for stealing money from drivers
BY COURTENAY EDELHART, Californian staff writer
The former sheriff's deputy who stole money from motorists he had pulled over without cause was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail and 120 days of work release.
Jason A. Hammack had previously pleaded no contest to felony grand theft from a person and making an arrest without authority. Four other counts of both charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
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A Kern County Sheriffs deputy places handcuffs on former deputy Jason Hammack in Judge Humphrey's court after sentencing. Hammack pleaded no contest to pulling motorists over without cause and stealing money from them.
David Torres speaks with his client, former deputy Jason Hammack, before sentencing. Hammack pleaded no contest to pulling motorists over without cause and stealing money from them. He was sentenced Thursday.
Former deputy Jason Hammack stands before Judge Humphrey prior to sentencing. Hammack pleaded no contest to pulling motorists over without cause and stealing money from them.
Hammack also must pay a total of $2,400 in restitution to five victims.
Defense attorney David A. Torres had asked for no jail time, pointing out that Hammack is now "gainfully employed" at a gas station.
But Deputy District Attorney Alexandria Sawoya urged Judge Collette Humphrey to impose jail time in recognition of the power differential between Hammack, then a Kern County sheriff's deputy, and his victims, some of whom were undocumented Mexican immigrants.
"He picked people who weren't likely to go to the police," she said. "He took advantage of a position of trust."
Hammack's behavior has tainted the honor and integrity of hard-working deputies who put their lives on the line every day to protect the public, making a difficult job that much harder, Sawoya added.
Humphrey said she agreed that Hammack should serve jail time, but said she wondered if the jail would release him early because of the difficulty it would have keeping the former deputy safe among other inmates.
Even if she sentenced Hammack to a year in jail, Humphrey said, there was a good chance he might not serve more than a month.
Sawoya stood fast on jail time.
"We sentence thieves to jail all the time," she said. "He shouldn't get a break because he used to be a (sheriff's deputy)," she said.
But Sawoya added that she would be open to a mix of both jail and work release. That was when Humphrey imposed the sentence.
Hammack stood erect, with legs apart and hands behind his back as the sentence was read.
A bailiff handcuffed him immediately and led him out of the courtroom as his fiancee wiped away tears.
Outside the courtroom, defense attorney Torres said Hammack's family is humiliated and the ex-deputy is "filled with remorse" and eager to make good on the restitution order as soon as he is able.
Hammack was a three-and-a-half year veteran of the Kern County Sheriff's Department when he was terminated Jan. 6, the day of his arrest.
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