A Deputy District Attorney accused in an alleged ticket fixing scandal was found guilty on three counts in court Wednesday.
Last May the Attorney General Office filed misdemeanor charges against Deputy DA Allison Worden, who also goes by “Debow,” and San Diego Police Sgt. Kevin Friedman for their alleged involvement in a traffic ticket fixing scandal.
According to a criminal complaint, on May 28, 2011, Worden and Deputy District Attorney Amy Maund were cited by an SDPD officer for failing to wear seat bealts.
Maund told investigators that Worden tried to dissuade the officer from giving them tickets by saying they were Deputy District Attorneys.
When that failed to work for the DAs, Maund claimed Worden called her friends, Sgt. Friedman, at the San Diego Police Traffic Division.
Maund said Worden told Friedman that the officer had acted inappropriately by getting in her “personal space” during their encounter.
Worden then allegedly asked Friedman if there was anything he could do about the traffic violations.
According to investigators, Friedman found the tickets in the division’s citation bin and got rid of them. Maund claimed she told Worden not to do anything about her ticket, but the request was allegedly ignored, and the tickets were dismissed.
Maund, who maintained that she wanted to pay the fine for her ticket, then told a supervisor at the DA’s office about the alleged ticket fixing incident.
Worden was placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation and subsequent trial.
Sgt. Friedman was placed on administrative desk duty. In March 2012, he retired from the SDPD after more than 26 years of service.
Following the ticket scandal, both DAs and Friedman faced three charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice and alteration or destruction of a traffic citation.
On Feb. 13, Worden was found guilty on all three counts.
According to the DA’s Office, Worden’s current employment status is now being sorted out. It remains to be seen whether the DA will lose her job as a result of this guilty verdict.
Steve Walker with the San Diego County DA said the matter will be looked into.
“The District Attorney’s Office respects the jury’s verdict and will take the appropriate action,” said Walker.
This isn’t the first traffic ticket fixing scandal to come out of the San Diego Police Department.
The chief and assistant chief were reprimanded 26 years ago for being part of a widespread practice of fixing hundreds of tickets for colleagues, friends, relatives, influential civic figures and members of the news media.
