| For Immediate Release Case # 10WF0658 May 20, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
HUNTINGTON BEACH MAN SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS IN CUSTODY FOR STALKING AND ATTEMPTING TO MAKE CRIMINAL THREATS AGAINST POLICE DETECTIVE
SANTA ANA – A Huntington Beach man was sentenced today to five years and four months in custody for stalking and attempting to make criminal threats against a Huntington Beach Police Department (HBPD) detective. Brian Dopler, 28, was found guilty by a jury June 2, 2010, of one felony count each of attempted criminal threats and stalking. At the time of the crime, he was on probation for domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend. Dopler is sentenced to serve three years and four months in state prison for the crime and two years in jail for violating his probation.
By law, in order to be found guilty of making criminal threats, there has to be evidence that the victim feared for his life. Dopler was found guilty of attempted criminal threats because he did not incite fear in his police officer victim.
Starting in May 2009, Detective Gary Kim, a 15-year veteran at HBPD, investigated three cases involving Dopler for stalking and violating a protective order, for which the defendant was later convicted and sentenced. Three protective orders were subsequently issued against Dopler and he was sentenced to 300 days in jail and three years of informal probation.
In December 2009, Dopler called Detective Kim repeatedly to inquire if HBPD had any new cases against him. Between Jan. 8, 2010 and Feb. 10, 2010, Dopler stalked Detective Kim by leaving him 14 harassing phone messages in which he used expletives and told Detective Kim that Dopler was driving past his ex-girlfriend’s home in violation of the restraining order at the time he was leaving the message.
On Feb. 10, 2010, Dopler left a threatening phone message for Detective Kim saying, “You f*** with my life anymore, I will f***ing kill you. You f***king slant-eyed f***. That’s a promise. The next cop that follows me will die as well. F*** you.”
During the sentencing today, Detective Kim gave an impact statement and said, “I have investigated domestic violence cases for over five years. In my experience, the worst fatal or near fatal cases are often always preceded by restraining order violations and stalking behavior. I was the assigned detective in all three of Mr. Dopler’s stalking cases. Two things that made him stand out from other stalking suspects were his complete obsession with his ex-girlfriend and myself, and the fact that he always told me the truth. During the first three cases, Mr. Dopler relentlessly violated the restraining order with hundreds of text messages, voicemails, emails and drive-by’s at the victim’s residence. When I would interview him, the thing that alarmed me is he admitted every restraining order violation simply because he ‘just wanted to talk to her or see her one last time.’ Towards the end, Mr. Dopler became more agitated and he threatened to buy a toy gun and point it at me in the hopes of humiliating me and my department by forcing me to shoot a man with a toy gun. Mr. Dopler never apologized or had remorse for his actions but considered his arrest as silly. I realized later Mr. Dopler does so because he simply believed what he was doing, the fear he was imposing on the victim, was not wrong.”