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Judge Vacates Weapons Conviction of Long Island Man Beaten by Police

What to Know

  • Christopher Loeb stole a duffel bag containing sex toys and police equipment from ex-Suffolk police chief James Burke's car in 2012
  • Burke admitted to beating Loeb and was sentenced to 46 months in jail
  • The former police chief resigned after also admitting to coercing other officers into lying about the case

A Suffolk judge has vacated the weapons possession conviction of a Long Island man who was beaten by former police chief James Burke after breaking into Burke's police-issued SUV five years ago. 

Burke admitted to beating 30-year-old Christopher Loeb, of Smithtown, in 2012 after Loeb stole a duffel bag containing sex toys and police equipment from Burke's police vehicle. Burke resigned after also admitting to coercing other officers in the department into lying about the case. 

Loeb was sentenced to three years after pleading guilty to criminal possession of a weapon. Loeb's attorney had argued that his client's plea be vacated because it was affected by perjured police testimony, and the special prosecutor who consented to vacating the conviction, William Ferris, agreed. 

However, the judge did reinstate the original indictment against Loeb, a move Loeb's lawyer, Bruce Barket, called "outrageous." 

Barket vowed to fight the charges. 

Ferris defended the reinstatement of the indictment, saying Loeb must still be responsible for any criminal actions. He has already served his original sentence, though, so wouldn't face any additional jail time.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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