Ex-Santa Clara cop should get three years in prison for aiding Hells Angels, prosecutors say
An ex-Santa Clara police officer convicted last year on charges related to illegally passing information to a Hells Angels member should spend more than three years in prison because he "undermined the public's confidence in law enforcement," federal prosecutors say.
But lawyers for Clay Rojas argue that he should be shown leniency when sentenced Wednesday, asking a federal judge to spare him from prison and give him probation for a "complete lapse in judgment."
The two competing portrayals were revealed in court papers filed last week, as Rojas prepares for U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to sentence him in San Jose federal court.
A jury last July convicted Rojas, 38, of 12 felony charges stemming from allegations he gave privileged law enforcement information to a member of the Hells Angels to pay off a debt. Prosecutors alleged during trial that Rojas supplied information such as criminal histories and DMV records to William "Billy" Bettencourt, a felon and member of the Santa Cruz chapter of the motorcycle gang.
In court papers, the U.S. attorney's office depicted Rojas as a police officer who accepted a "paltry" bribe of a few thousand dollars to sell his department's internal information to a known felon. Rojas, a five-year veteran of the department, was fired after his 2010 arrest.
"Defendant harmed society by placing his personal interests, and the interests of Bettencourt, ahead of the public he served," prosecutors
During trial, Rojas, while admitting mistakes, denied any connection between paying off the loan and giving Bettencourt law enforcement records, despite telling Santa Clara police brass after his arrest that he was trying to pay off his debts to the biker. Prosecutors also showed the jury dozens of text messages between Rojas and Bettencourt referring to the law enforcement material.
In documents filed with the judge, Rojas' attorney argued that Rojas simply made a mistake, caught in a bind because of financial difficulties and believing Bettencourt was just a friend helping him out.
"He was too full of pride to admit his need and borrow money from his family, friends or colleagues," Rojas' lawyer told the judge.
Among other things, they stressed Rojas' strong record of community work and his time as an active duty Marine in Iraq.
Rojas, who now works for a company that handles military contracts for the federal government and NATO, could lose everything if he's sentenced to prison, court papers say.
"Clearly, incarceration would not do Clay any good," his lawyer wrote.