A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who was charged last year with misleading supervisors about the hours he worked and falsifying patrol records pleaded no contest Tuesday to three misdemeanor counts.
Matt Kochaon, 55, was immediately sentenced to 30 days of community service and three years probation following his no contest plea to one count of grand theft and two counts of falsifying a public record while a custodial officer.
Kochaon was also ordered to pay $2,134 in restitution to the county, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Kochaon — a 20-year veteran of the sheriff’s department who was most recently assigned to the Parks Bureau’s Southern Region — was relieved of duty in February 2017. His current status with the sheriff’s department was not immediately available.
According to a statement released last year after the charges were filed, the sheriff’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau initiated a “comprehensive investigation” after becoming aware of the criminal allegations and “obtained information indicating that various crimes had occurred.”
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department expects all of its members to hold themselves to the highest ethical and professional standards at all times,” the statement said. “Department members who choose to violate the law and public trust will not be tolerated.”