Cop charged with obtaining property by deception

A former police officer is in custody tonight after he was found guilty of Obtaining Property by Deception. In this case, the officer was accused of taking money from a woman to secure the release of her son from prison. Thirty-nine year old Javier Mendez was fined one thousand dollars by Chief Magistrate Margaret McKenzie and was given until September nineteenth to pay the fine or serve one year behind bars. Mendez was ordered to pay five hundred dollars forthwith in compensation to the complainant, forty-seven year old Alba Carcamo. This is the same amount he got from the woman, promising to get Jeremy Carcamo released from prison on bail. In court, Alba testified that on February nineteenth she gave Mendez five hundred dollars towards one thousand, one hundred dollars that Mendez requested to secure bail for Jeremy. According to the mother, Mendez asked her to meet him by the Swing Bridge later on the same day with the remaining money. But when she met him, he changed the plan and instead asked her to meet him at Court with the rest of the money. According to Alba, she waited but Mendez never turned up as agreed. Mendez admitted that he did meet with Carcamo, but denied getting any money from her.