Cops charged after pot shop’s hidden cameras show them eating snacks

Three Southern California police officers were charged Monday with theft of protein bars and cookies eaten at a medical marijuana dispensary last year. The alleged crimes by the Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD) officers were captured by secret video during a May raid of the Sky High Holistic dispensary in Santa Ana, just southeast of Los Angeles.

"The Orange County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation conducted a thorough investigation, including interviewing multiple witnesses and reviewing over 16 hours of unedited video surveillance footage with the cooperation of SAPD," the Orange County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. "While other SAPD personnel ate some protein bars, there is insufficient evidence that they knew the food items belonged to the dispensary and not their fellow officers. There was also no evidence that any SAPD personnel consumed any edible marijuana items available at the dispensary."

Charged with misdemeanor theft were Brandon Matthew Sontag, 31, Nicole Lynn Quijas, 37, and Jorge Arroyo, 32. Sontag was also charged with vandalism, and he is accused of smashing five of the dispensary's security cameras, prosecutors said.

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