The former Hollywood Police officer convicted of falsifying records for fabricating an accident report in a crash his co-worker committed was sentenced to 90 days behind bars Friday.
Dewey Pressley, 45, had faced just under two years behind bars after he was convicted by a jury in December. He was acquitted of the more serious charges of official misconduct and conspiracy.
He will be released on bond while he appeals the sentence.
"I'm a little bit disappointed in the sentencing for a misdemeanor, however we will be appealing that and we will see what happens," Pressley's attorney, Rhea Grossman, said after Friday's sentencing.
Grossman said the appeal could take as long as two years.
"I'm satisfied with the sentence, I think that I would have liked more," said prosecutor Adriana Alcalde, who had asked for the maximum term. "But the judge gave him jail time and I think that's a good start."
Pressley, fellow officer Joel Francisco, and three other Hollywood Police Department employees were allegedly part of an elaborate cover up that included staged crime-scene photos, an imaginary cat and a coordinated lie that all happened to be caught on one of the cops' patrol car video cameras.
On Feb. 17, 2009, Francisco, an 11-year veteran of the force, crashed into the back of a car being driven by Alexandra Torrens-Vilas as she was stopped at a red light, authorities said.
Instead of taking blame for the accident, Francisco and Pressley allegedly began concocting a story which would pin the crash on Torrens-Vilas, who was arrested at the scene for DUI.
Pressley, a 21-year veteran of the force, was caught on a police dashboard camera telling the other officer they'd do "a little Walt Disney to protect the cop," and began making up a story about a cat.
"As far as I'm concerned. I'm going to put words in his mouth. She went to accelerate and a cat jumped out of the window at which point he thought it could have been a pedestrian, which distracted him," Pressley tells Sgt. Andrew Diaz, according to police. "I mean what's the chances of hitting a f---in drunk when a cat jumps out of the window?"
Torrens-Vilas, who was actually drunk, was handcuffed in the back seat while the cops allegedly conjured up the story to frame her.
"I know how I'm going to word this with the cat so we can get him off the hook. I'll write the narrative," Pressley says in the video. "We're going to bend this a little bit. We'll do a little Walt Disney to protect the cop because it wouldn't have mattered because she is drunk anyway."
The charges against Torrens-Vilas were eventually dropped and the participants in the would-be fairy tale were fired.
Francisco has pleaded not guilty. His trial hasn't begun yet.
Pressley had faced up to 30 years behind bars if he'd been found guilty of the ten original counts he'd been charged with.
"If they break the law, they break the law and the truth is most officers are good and an officer that does something like this kind of makes the rest look bad," Alcalde said.
