A judge Friday reduced the felony convictions to misdemeanors for two former Torrance police officers who pleaded guilty last year to a vandalism charge stemming from a swastika that was found spray-painted inside an impounded vehicle.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta called the case against Christopher Tomsic and Cody Weldin, both 33, “a serious case simply because it was done by law enforcement officers,” but noted that they had done a “good job on probation” and that he had no doubt that they will be “contributing members of society.”
Attorneys for the two said they plan to file a motion seeking to have the case expunged.
The decision came one day after the judge granted a request by the District Attorney’s Office to dismiss voluntary manslaughter charges filed under predecessor George Gascón’s administration against former Torrance police officers Matthew Concannon and Anthony Chavez in connection with the Dec. 9, 2018, on-duty shooting death of 23-year-old Christopher DeAndre Mitchell. Current District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement that the prosecution could not meet its burden to prove the case.
Tomsic and Weldin pleaded guilty to the felony vandalism charge in April 2025 and were immediately sentenced to two years probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and 15 hours in an anti-racism class, along with completing a tour of the Museum of Tolerance as a result of the plea agreement with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The two were also required to surrender their certification that allowed them to be police officers in California, and to pay just over $400 in court fees and fines.
A second count — conspiracy to commit vandalism — was dismissed as a result of the plea deal.
Deputy District Attorney John Perroni told the judge the prosecution objected to early termination of probation.
Tomsic’s attorney, Lisa Houle, said outside court that she believes the judge’s decision — which she noted resulted in probation being terminated — “recognizes that Mr. Tomsic expressed remorse and contrition and accepted responsibility for what he did.”
In a declaration attached to a court filing, Tomsic wrote, “I have done everything I can to lead a good, moral life since this incident. I know what I did was wrong and I deserved my punishment.”
Weldin wrote in a declaration attached to a defense filing requesting the reduction of the charge to a misdemeanor that he was asking the court to “consider the significant barriers my current record imposes on my professional and personal life” and that it has “also been difficult to maintain personal relationships as the stigma associated with a felony conviction is devastating.”
Weldin’s attorney, Tom Yu, said outside court, “I’m glad this is over for my client.”
Tomsic and Weldin were among a group of officers who responded to a Jan. 27, 2020, call about three men who had stolen mail from an apartment building, and were led to a vehicle that may have been used in the crime and was subsequently taken to a tow yard, according to prosecutors.
“When the vehicle’s owner arrived to pick up the car, he found a happy face that had been spray-painted on the front seat of the vehicle and on the rear seat there was a symbol of a swastika,” then-District Attorney George Gascón told reporters at a news conference when charges were announced in August 2021.
Then-Torrance Police Chief Jeremiah Hart said at the time that the two officers were “no longer employed” by the city.
Hart noted then that the department initiated a criminal investigation as soon as it was notified of the allegations in January 2020 and subsequently submitted recommendations to the District Attorney’s Office that criminal charges be filed against the former officers.
“The actions of these former officers were disgraceful and violated the core values of our department,” Hart said after the plea deal.
In March 2023, attorney Jerry L. Steering announced that the city of Torrance had paid $750,000 to the vehicle’s owner, Kiley Swaine of Redondo Beach. Swaine discovered his 2004 Hyundai Elantra had been vandalized when he went to a tow yard to retrieve the car after being released from jail.
“I have been suing police officers for 39 years, and I have never seen anything like this,” Steering said then.