MIAMI – Two former Biscayne Park police officers accused of making a false arrest in 2013 accepted a plea deal Friday.
Local 10 News reporter Glenna Milberg was in court as Charlie Dayoub and Raul Fernandez pleaded guilty to deprivation of the victim's civil rights. In return, the state dropped the second charge -- conspiracy to violate civil rights under color of law.
Both men have agreed to cooperate with the case against former police Chief Raimundo Atesiano, who prosecutors said ordered the officers to falsely arrest a 16-year-old, identified only as T.D., in 2013 in connection with four unsolved burglaries.
Prosecutors said the police chief wanted the teen arrested, although there was no legitimate basis to arrest the teen, "in order to maintain a fictitious 100 percent clearance rate of reported burglaries."
T.D. was arrested June 13, 2013.
Prosecutors said the officers gathered information for four unsolved burglaries and wrote up four fictitious arrest affidavits, linking T.D. to the crimes.
According to an indictment, the police chief and officers knew there was no credible evidence against the teen and no lawful basis to make the arrest.
Less than a month later, on July 9, 2013, Atesiano announced at a meeting of the City Council for The Village of Biscayne Park that his department had a 100 percent clearance rate for burglaries, prosecutors said.
Dayoub and Fernandez face up to one year in prison. They are expected to be sentenced on Oct. 16.