The California Supreme Court refused a plea for legal help from a disgraced former San Diego police officer convicted of groping women.
Anthony Arevalos is serving more than eight years in prison for molesting female motorists in the Gaslamp Quarter, but he is trying to get that sentence thrown out.
Shortly after Arevalos was convicted in November 2011, the trial judge dismissed two of the most serious convictions. That decision would have cut several years from Arevalos’ sentence.
But the district attorney’s office appealed that ruling, and in February, an appeals court agreed with prosecutors and reinstated those convictions.
Arevalos’ lawyer quickly appealed to the state’s highest court, asking the justices to again thrown out the two convictions.
The Supreme Court reviewed that petition April 22 at its regular weekly conference. The justices, however, were not persuaded and denied Arevalos’ petition.
That decision was posted Wednesday on the appeals court website.
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The district attorney’s office and Arevalos’ attorney both confirmed that decision.
In response to an inquiry from NBC 7, a spokesperson for District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said, “Barring any intervention from the federal courts, all of the original convictions will stand (and) he will serve the 8 year, 8 month sentence, and be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.”
Arevalos' behavior has forced the city of San Diego to pay out more than $8 million in settlements to the ex-cop's 14 victims. The majority of that money -- $.59 million-- will go to the prime plaintiff in the case, known as "Jane Doe."
She filed a police misconduct claim after Arevalos pulled her over for a routine traffic stop in March 2011. The woman says Arevalos suggested they go to the bathroom of a nearby convenience store. He convinced her to give him her underwear in exchange for not arresting her for DUI.
Police say Arevalos preyed on women in the Gaslamp Quarter from 2009 to 2011.
