Corey Pierce
A judge sentenced former San Luis Obispo police officer Cory Pierce to 18 months in federal prison Monday. [KSBY]
Prosecutors accused Pierce, a former narcotics detective, of stealing drugs from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Department’s evidence locker and manipulating a probationer into selling drugs for him.
Pierce, 39, pleaded guilty to one of two counts of extortion in July.
He faced a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine but only received an 18-month sentence and an order to pay $5,500 in restitution.
San Luis Obispo Police Chief Steve Gesell told KSBY that Pierce’s actions were a stain on the department.
“My objective from day one was to ensure that this person was never a police officer again,” Gesell said.
Pierce gets to keep his accrued pension benefits from his time on the force up to the point in which he committed a felony. Pierce served six years with the police department and is believed to have committed the crime of extortion in late 2011.
His prison sentence will begin on January 27.
