O.C. Sheriff’s Deputy charged after giving a suspect’s debit card to her son, who used it

SANTA ANA, Calif. – An Orange County Sheriff’s deputy has been charged in connection with taking a credit card from a suspect and giving it to her son who then used the card.

Angelina Cortez, 41, has been charged with one felony count of filing a false police report. She faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison if convicted.

Cortez was assigned to a training officer on November 19, 2018 when she and her training officer responded to a call of a man stealing wine and batteries from a San Clemente 7-Eleven store. Cortez is accused of taking the theft suspect’s debit card, putting it in her uniform shirt pocket and later giving it to her son, who then used it. The card was never booked into evidence.

Cortez is scheduled to be arraigned on November 18, 2020. She is on administrative leave from the Sheriff’s Department.

“The public has an absolute expectation that their law enforcement officers will carry out their duties lawfully,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “When laws are broken by the very people who are sworn to uphold them, the public trust is eroded and society as a whole suffers. The entire criminal justice system relies on the trust that those sworn to uphold the law are following it themselves.”