The State - News from July 3, 1985

Grand theft charges were filed against two California Highway Patrol officers in Kern County for stealing cash from motorists, officials reported. The findings of a Bakersfield police “sting” operation resulted in the filings by the Kern County district attorney against Officers Rodney Johnson, 29, and Richard B. Phillips, 26. Police said $200 in marked money was stolen from an undercover policeman who posed as the driver of a disabled vehicle. The sting operation was triggered by a citizen, who complained that the two men had stolen $160 from his wallet when they stopped him for speeding. In an unrelated case, a CHP officer from Tulare was sentenced to 30 days in jail on a misdemeanor count of having sex with a minor.