Deputy burglarizes home of a dead man he found while on duty, California officials say

A sheriff’s office in California arrested a former deputy after home surveillance video showed he broke into a dead man’s home three times, once while on duty, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.

The deputy knew the man had died because he conducted a welfare check on the home July 20 with two other sheriff’s department employees, according to an Oct. 8 news release. A man inside the home was found dead from natural causes.

One week later, Steve Hortz, 42, returned to the home while in uniform and broke in, authorities said. He went back to the house and stole several items, including 15 guns, on Aug. 10 and Aug. 16, according to the news release.

Those burglaries took place shortly before Hortz was scheduled to work.

The probate attorney handling the deceased homeowner’s estate turned in surveillance video showing Hortz breaking in and stealing from the home to the sheriff’s office, Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, told McClatchy News. Hortz was arrested in connection with the crime on Sept. 10.

Hortz is charged with three felony counts of second degree burglary and two felony counts of grand theft of a firearm.

“Hortz resigned in lieu of termination” on Sept. 30, the news release said. His arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 13. He faces more than four years in prison, if convicted.

“When we call on law enforcement officers for help, we expect that they answer that call for help with the purest intentions to help those in need, not as an opportunity to scope out the situation in order to return later and victimize the very people they are sworn to protect,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the news release.

This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Deputy burglarizes home of a dead man he found while on duty, California officials say."