UPDATE: L.A. County District Attorney, 7/1/2013

A former sergeant for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been charged with grand theft and other counts for allegedly stealing money during a staged sting operation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Jason Lustig of the Justice System Integrity Division said Bonnie Theodore Bryant III, 57 (dob 5/18/56), is charged with one felony count each of grand theft of personal property and embezzlement by a public or private officer. Bryant also faces a misdemeanor count of petty theft.

The defendant is expected to be a rraigned today in the Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Department 30. He is charged in case BA412907.

The complaint includes a special allegation that Bryant was armed with a handgun in the commission of the offense on July 25.

Bryant is accused of taking $4,000 during an integrity check operation on July 25, 2012, staged by LASD Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau.

Bryant also allegedly stole money seized during a narcotics sting on May 15, 2012. The alleged theft, which occurred in the parking lot of a hardware store, was observed by a security guard through an external security video camera. The guard allegedly observed Bryant place a large amount of money into a canvas bag in the trunk of his vehicle. The guard reported the occurrence to LASD July 5, 2012.

At the time of the alleged crimes, Bryant was a narcotics task force supervisor. He resigned from the Sheriff’s Department in December 2012, the prosecutor said.

The case was filed for warrant on June 28. Bail for the defendant is recommended at $70,000.

If convicted as charged, Bryant faces a maximum sentence of four years, six months in state prison. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Original LASD Press Release 7/25/2012

[LASD] – Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca announced the arrest Wednesday of Sgt. Bonnie Bryant III, a 28-year Sheriff’s Department veteran, on felony grand theft charges for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars during drug investigations.

The arrest came after a two-week probe by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Internal Criminal investigations Bureau that revealed Bryant was taking money confiscated during narcotics investigations. Bryant, who had been assigned to the Narcotics Bureau for six years, was arrested at approximately 1:15 Wednesday and is currently being booked into the Los Angeles County jail system. Bryant’s bail has been set at $20,000. The investigation is ongoing.

Bryant was relieved of duty with pay.