Former H.B. police investigator charged with stealing drugs from a suspect’s car

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A former Huntington Beach Police Department crime scene investigator has been charged with stealing drugs from an attempted murder suspect’s vehicle, ingesting the drug, and then driving a police vehicle under the influence.

Sean Patrick Lotts, 53, of Huntington Beach, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of embezzlement by a public official, one misdemeanor count of seizing property under the color of authority, and one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence.

Lotts is scheduled to be arraigned on April 7, 2021 at the Stephen K. Tamura Justice Center in Westminster in Department W1. He faces a maximum sentence of two years in the Orange County Jail if convicted on all charges.

On January 23, 2020, Lotts was working as a crime scene investigator for the Huntington Beach Police Department when he was assigned to photograph a vehicle belonging to an attempted murder suspect. While processing the vehicle, Lotts is accused of taking photos of several pills found inside the vehicle and ingesting at least one of the pills. The pills were later identified as Flualprazolam, a rare designer drug.

Lotts is then accused of driving a Huntington Beach Police Ford Explorer to his home while under the influence of the drug.

Lotts resigned from the Huntington Beach Police Department in lieu of termination.

“I am disappointed and angered by this conduct. As the elected District Attorney, it is my responsibility to prosecute corrupt police officers and law enforcement personnel,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The public has an expectation that law enforcement employees – whether they are sworn or civilian – will conduct themselves in a way that is in accordance with the laws they are tasked with enforcing. It is ludicrous that someone processing a crime scene would even think of – much less act on – stealing evidence from a crime scene and then using that evidence for their own recreational purposes.”

Deputy District Attorney Frank Acosta of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.