An ex-Hialeah Police officer accused of abducting and beating a homeless man was sentenced to more than five years in state prison after he was found guilty of armed kidnapping charges.
Judge Andrea Wolfson sentenced Rafael Otano to 66 months in prison followed by five years of probation at a hearing Wednesday.
“There is a victim involved and he deserves some level of justice as well,” said Wolfson.
In August, Otano was found guilty of armed kidnapping but acquitted of battery.
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During his sentencing, where he was facing up to life in prison, the former officer broke his silence by telling the judge he never intended to commit a crime and said “let me go home to my family, because they mean the world to me.”
“My career is over,” Otano added while standing in a red jumpsuit, where his wife, mother, and relatives sat crying across the courtroom.
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Shawn Abuhoff, Assistant State Attorney, highlighted after Otano spoke that the defendant has not been willing to take responsibility for his actions. “Don’t blame the victim, blame yourself,” Abuhoff added.
Abuhoff reminded the court GPS data showed Otano was with fellow officer Lorenzo Orfila, his co-defendant, near the crime scene the day the victim, Jose Ortega-Gutierrez, was beaten. Prosecutors wanted Otano sentenced up to 90 months in prison.
Michael Pizzi, an attorney representing Otano, wanted a sentence of 36 months’ probation. Pizzi said his client was only a backup officer and that Otano was just doing his job.
“Mr.Otano had complete control over the situation,” said Judge Wolfson during the sentencing.
"Today’s sentencing of former Hialeah Police Officer Rafael Otano marks a sad day for the Hialeah Police Department and for the entire Miami-Dade law enforcement community. When the jury convicted Otano of the armed kidnapping of a homeless man intended to’ teach him a lesson’, it sent out the strongest message possible that this community is a community of laws which govern us all," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement Wednesday. "Our police officers, who spend every day protecting our community, all understand that one cannot uphold the values of our laws while engaged in actions which violate the law itself."
Orfila still has an open criminal case, he has a court hearing next month.
"The law enforcement community must hold itself accountable and to a higher standard and any officer that violates the public’s trust will face the ramification of their actions," Hialeah Police Chief George Fuente said in a statement. "Let me be very clear; the actions that Mr. Otano was found guilty of, do not reflect the men and women of the Hialeah Police Department. The men and women of this agency are dedicated and devoted officers, that continue to protect and serve this city with the respect and loyalty it so greatly deserves."
