OC sheriff’s deputy charged with assault for unlawfully tasering suspect

An Orange County sheriff’s deputy was indicted for allegedly abusing his authority when he tasered a handcuffed suspect in his patrol car last year. Mike Anton of the L.A. Times reports that Christopher Hibbs, a 12-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, was indicted by an Orange County grand jury on two felony assault charges.

The indictment—which was unsealed today—stems from the September 2007 arrest and subsequent gun charge of Ignacio Gomez Lares. Anton reports that Lares was stopped for walking in public with an open beer bottle and when he tried to resist arrest and flee, Hibbs tasered him. The charges stem from what happened next- after Lares was arrested and in handcuffs, Hibbs tasered him numerous times because Lares kept truthfully telling Hibbs his name was “Ignacio Gomez,” instead of Ignacio Gomez Lares, which was not in authority’s database.

If convicted, he could face a maximum of three years in prison.

Questions about this post can be directed to Orange County Criminal Defense Attorney William Weinberg at 714.834.1400.