Santa Ana Police Officer Agrees to Plead Guilty to Bribery Charge

   SANTA ANA — A Santa Ana Police officer was charged Dec. 15, with accepting $128,000 in bribes from a crime figure seeking to thwart law enforcement activities against his illegally operating businesses.

         Steven Lopez, 28, of Chino, was charged with bribery in a single-count information filed Dec. 15, in United States District Court. In a plea agreement also filed Dec. 15, Lopez agreed to plead guilty to this felony offense. Lopez is expected to plead guilty to the offense in United States District Court in the coming weeks.

         Lopez served as a police officer with the Santa Ana Police Department from April 2016 to Nov. 2020. From Aug. 2019 until Nov. 2020, Lopez received approximately $128,000 in bribes from an individual – named in court documents as “Co-Schemer 1” – seeking to influence Lopez in the performance of his official duties as a police officer, the plea agreement states.

         Lopez admitted that he agreed to prevent or stop law enforcement compliance checks at businesses illegally operating under Co-Schemer 1’s control, law enforcement efforts to shut down those businesses, and law enforcement searches and seizures at those illegally operated businesses. Upon entering his guilty plea, Lopez will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.