Post by KC on Sept 13, 2006 21:03:48 GMT -5
Sept. 13, 2006 - HARTFORD - A city police officer was arrested on prostitution charges Monday following a four-month investigation by the department's internal affairs division, police say.
The officer, Roberto Sanchez, 33, of Newington, who has been a city officer for less than five years, was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal charges, police spokeswoman Nancy Mulroy said.
He was arrested Monday night and charged with patronizing a prostitute from a motor vehicle. He was released on a written promise to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Sept. 21.
Court records state Sanchez solicited a prostitute in the Frog Hollow neighborhood several times over the summer while detectives had him under surveillance.
Sanchez was off duty and out of uniform during the encounters, but he showed the woman his gun and his badge, the arrest warrant affidavit states.
Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts said he ordered the investigation after receiving a tip.
"It's unfortunate to see a police officer charged with such conduct, however, I would add that Officer Sanchez is cooperating fully with the investigation," Roberts said in a prepared statement. "I do anticipate appropriate disciplinary action will be taken pending the outcome of our judicial system with respect to the case and completion of the department's internal affairs investigation."
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, police interviewed prostitutes in the Wethersfield Avenue and Stonington Street area about inappropriate contacts they might have had with Hartford officers.
On Sept. 6, Melanie Heuberger, 31, an admitted crack addict with a prostitution record, told investigators she had been having sex with Sanchez in his truck on a weekly basis in the rear of the nearby Vinci Oil property, the affidavit states.
The arrangement began in late May or early June and no money was ever exchanged as "she feared what he might do," the affidavit states, adding "Sanchez never hit her or threatened force against her."
He did tell her that if she told anyone, "she would have problems," the affidavit states. "I'm not going to get arrested, I'm a cop," he allegedly told Heuberger as he pulled to the side of the road and showed her his gun and badge, according to the affidavit.
On Sept. 9, Heuberger, wearing a wire, got into Sanchez's truck and was taken to the Vinci Oil property as police looked on. They surrounded the truck and found Sanchez with his pants unzipped involved in a sexual act with Heuberger, the affidavit states.
As he was handcuffed and arrested he told investigators that "he didn't remember if he negotiated money for sex with Ms. Heuberger," then later said he paid her twice and they had sex seven or eight times, the affidavit states. He further added that he never gave Heuberger more than $20, and was intoxicated during each encounter, according to the affidavit.
Sanchez's lawyer, Michael Georgetti, said today he could not comment on the facts of the case.
"My client does intend to plea not guilty and contest this arrest," Georgetti said, adding that the suspension "obviously comes totally unexpected. He will deal with the economic crisis as best he can. But he didn't anticipate this, and had no prior knowledge that he was being investigated.
Sanchez is the latest Hartford police officer to be accused of sexual misconduct. Seven city police officers were caught in a sting operation in the late 1990s and convicted of violating the rights of prostitutes.
www.journalinquirer.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17188679&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=161556&rfi=6
The officer, Roberto Sanchez, 33, of Newington, who has been a city officer for less than five years, was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal charges, police spokeswoman Nancy Mulroy said.
He was arrested Monday night and charged with patronizing a prostitute from a motor vehicle. He was released on a written promise to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Sept. 21.
Court records state Sanchez solicited a prostitute in the Frog Hollow neighborhood several times over the summer while detectives had him under surveillance.
Sanchez was off duty and out of uniform during the encounters, but he showed the woman his gun and his badge, the arrest warrant affidavit states.
Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts said he ordered the investigation after receiving a tip.
"It's unfortunate to see a police officer charged with such conduct, however, I would add that Officer Sanchez is cooperating fully with the investigation," Roberts said in a prepared statement. "I do anticipate appropriate disciplinary action will be taken pending the outcome of our judicial system with respect to the case and completion of the department's internal affairs investigation."
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, police interviewed prostitutes in the Wethersfield Avenue and Stonington Street area about inappropriate contacts they might have had with Hartford officers.
On Sept. 6, Melanie Heuberger, 31, an admitted crack addict with a prostitution record, told investigators she had been having sex with Sanchez in his truck on a weekly basis in the rear of the nearby Vinci Oil property, the affidavit states.
The arrangement began in late May or early June and no money was ever exchanged as "she feared what he might do," the affidavit states, adding "Sanchez never hit her or threatened force against her."
He did tell her that if she told anyone, "she would have problems," the affidavit states. "I'm not going to get arrested, I'm a cop," he allegedly told Heuberger as he pulled to the side of the road and showed her his gun and badge, according to the affidavit.
On Sept. 9, Heuberger, wearing a wire, got into Sanchez's truck and was taken to the Vinci Oil property as police looked on. They surrounded the truck and found Sanchez with his pants unzipped involved in a sexual act with Heuberger, the affidavit states.
As he was handcuffed and arrested he told investigators that "he didn't remember if he negotiated money for sex with Ms. Heuberger," then later said he paid her twice and they had sex seven or eight times, the affidavit states. He further added that he never gave Heuberger more than $20, and was intoxicated during each encounter, according to the affidavit.
Sanchez's lawyer, Michael Georgetti, said today he could not comment on the facts of the case.
"My client does intend to plea not guilty and contest this arrest," Georgetti said, adding that the suspension "obviously comes totally unexpected. He will deal with the economic crisis as best he can. But he didn't anticipate this, and had no prior knowledge that he was being investigated.
Sanchez is the latest Hartford police officer to be accused of sexual misconduct. Seven city police officers were caught in a sting operation in the late 1990s and convicted of violating the rights of prostitutes.
www.journalinquirer.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17188679&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=161556&rfi=6