A former Costa Mesa police officer was serving probation Tuesday after pleading guilty to charges stemming from repeatedly contacting his ex-girlfriend and illegally accessing law enforcement databases to track her and others.
Robert Jay Josett, 35, of Costa Mesa, entered the plea Monday to one misdemeanor count each of unauthorized computer access and fraud, making annoying or repeated phone calls, and contempt of court for violating a restraining order.
Prosecutors said that beginning in April 2024, after the woman ended their relationship, Josett repeatedly called, texted and sent social media messages to her, sometimes more than 100 times in a single day.
He also admitted threatening to release explicit photos and repeatedly contacting the woman’s new boyfriend, at times calling as many as 58 times in a single day, and driving by her home.
Authorities said that between June and December 2023, Josett used confidential law enforcement databases, including the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System and a license plate reader system, to conduct searches unrelated to his duties, including queries involving the woman, her romantic partners and his own wife.
He also used the systems to locate vehicles and track their movements, prosecutors said.
“The actions engaged by someone employed as a sworn police officer are obsessive, they are frightening and they are dangerous,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “No one should have to live in fear of being tracked through law enforcement databases by someone with a badge and a gun because they decided to call off a romantic relationship.”
Even after being placed on administrative leave, Josett continued accessing police systems to locate the woman’s new boyfriend, prosecutors said.
Josett also admitted violating a restraining order by driving past the woman’s home after being served with the order and notified of his termination from the Costa Mesa Police Department, according to prosecutors.
He was subsequently arrested.
Josett was sentenced to three years of informal probation and ordered to complete a 52-week domestic violence program, prosecutors said. He also previously spent nine months on a court-ordered GPS ankle monitor following his arrest.