State Trooper Stole From Dying Motorist

A Connecticut state trooper who stole cash from the pocket of a dying motorcyclist and took a crucifix he found in a pool of the man's blood has pleaded guilty and faces more than a year in jail. Aaron Huntsman, 45, was caught by his own dashboard camera and pleaded guilty to third-degree larceny and tampering with evidence under the Alford doctrine, which means he doesn't agree with the prosecution's case but admits there's enough evidence to find him guilty, the Connecticut Post reports.

Huntsman could have been sentenced to a decade in prison under the charges, but he's expected to get around 16 months, to be followed by five years of probation, the New York Daily News reports. He was the first at the scene after John Scalesse crashed into a truck in September 2012. After taking the man's $5,000 gold crucifix and $3,700 in cash, he failed to turn them over to the 49-year-old's mother when he went to tell her that her son had died. In the following weeks, he lied to the victim's father when he asked about the crucifix and the thousands in cash that his son, who ran a masonry firm, was known to carry.