On Monday, Juan Prietocofino, pleaded guilty to one count of notary fraud.
State Attorneys Office says Prietocofino notarized a fake affidavit in connection to the arrest of Former Hialeah Cops Rafael Otano and Lorenzo Orfila, who are accused of kidnapping and beating a homeless man in 2022.
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Otano and Orfila are expected to head to trial, however on Monday, Prietocofino admitted his guilt and was sentenced to five years probation. Prietocofino will also be expected to testify during trials.
The two now-fired cops say they are innocent but prosecutors believe they arrested a homeless man by the name of Jose Ortega-Gutierrez, placed him in handcuffs and put in the back of a Hialeah Police car.
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Instead of being taken to jail as is the normal procedure, the officers allegedly took Ortega-Gutierrez to an isolated location where he was beaten and thrown to the ground while still handcuffed.
Days after the incident, Ortega-Gutierrez said he was approached by another man Ali Amin Saleh, who identified himself as a private investigator and offered him $1,200 in cash to sign an affidavit that he had been arrested for drinking and hadn't been beaten by the officers, authorities said.
Saleh was charged with tampering. Prietocofino, who worked with Saleh, notarized the fake arrest affidavit about the alleged beating where the victim would follow a different story and say he had been arrested for drinking and hadn't been beaten by the officers.
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Otano's trial is expected to start Aug. 21.
