A former police officer has been charged with stealing debit and credit cards from people entering a detention center. A victim was able to obtain photos of the person who had made the purchases with their card at a home improvement store and forwarded them to investigators, leading them to identify the person as Babaians.

When the arrest was announced last year, LAPD officials noted that the investigation was launched after a member of the public contacted them to report a missing card and unauthorized transactions after their visit to the facility.

Edmond Babaians, 43, a 16-year veteran of the department was arrested charged, August 23, 2023, with three felony counts and one misdemeanor count of unlawful use of access cards for taking the bank cards from people whose belongings were being searched, according to the District Attorney George Gascón.

Prosecutors say that the former LAPD officer had been working at the detention center since Nov. 18, where his duties included searching the personal belongings of people visiting inmates at the facility. They say that Babaians stole from at least four people passing through the security checkpoint, using their credit and debit cards to make several purchases. 

He is scheduled for arraignment on Friday. If convicted of all charges, Babaians faces up to five years and four months in jail, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said.