A jury in Los Angeles County has delivered a guilty verdict against Eric Halem, a former officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, who was charged with kidnapping and committing a bitcoin theft during a home invasion in 2024. The incident specifically targeted a teenage cryptocurrency holder.
The decision came after a two-week trial at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where prosecutors detailed the circumstances of the crime. Halem, 38, alongside three alleged accomplices, had reportedly disguised themselves as law enforcement to access a high-rise apartment in Koreatown. Once inside, the assailants restrained a 17-year-old victim named Daniel and his girlfriend, stealing a hard drive that housed the keys to approximately $350,000 worth of bitcoin.
During his testimony, Daniel recounted that the suspects threatened to kill him if he did not surrender the hard drive. According to court proceedings, the group had donned vests marking them as police and gained entry using an access code obtained from a conspirator who had previously rented the apartment to Daniel.
The intrusion occurred in the early hours of December 28, 2024, when the group took the elevator to the 18th floor and forced their way into the apartment. Daniel’s girlfriend was reportedly placed in handcuffs labeled as LAPD-issued, while Daniel himself was subdued and restrained before yielding the hard drive under the threat of gun violence.
Halem, who had a 13-year tenure with the LAPD before leaving in 2022, was acting as a reserve officer at the time of the crime. The evidence presented at the trial revealed that he was also operating a luxury car rental business called DriveLA, along with other ventures that included a remote audition app for actors and discussions about a potential reality television project.
After deliberating for less than a day, jurors reached guilty verdicts on the kidnapping and robbery charges. Halem is set to face sentencing on March 31, with officials indicating that the charges could carry a life sentence.
During the prosecution’s closing arguments, Deputy District Attorney Jane Brownstone highlighted Halem’s violation of his police oath. She pointed to text messages allegedly sent by Halem after the robbery, in which he mentioned monitoring police radio traffic. Another message referred to his awareness of discussions involving two co-defendants arrested shortly after the incident.
In defense, Halem’s attorney, Megan Maitia, questioned the integrity of the prosecution’s case, suggesting that detectives cherry-picked text messages from a vast collection of data and failed to substantiate the teenager’s narrative. She also raised doubts about the characterization of the suspects as organized criminals, especially noting that the vehicles used during the crime—an orange Lamborghini Urus and a green Range Rover—were registered to Halem’s rental business and had GPS trackers, making them easily traceable.
Halem opted not to testify during the trial, and his defense did not call any witnesses to support his case. Meanwhile, his co-defendants, who have yet to stand trial, have continued to assert their innocence, with one, Gabby Ben, facing prior fraud convictions.
