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Highlands Today

Former AP police officer sentenced to year in county jail

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: January 30, 2010

SEBRING - Former Avon Park police officer Adam Willis was adjudicated guilty on Wednesday and sentenced to 364 days in the county jail.

Willis, 32, pleaded no contest last May to a charge of grand theft. In addition to the jail term, he was also sentenced to five years probation.

In November 2008, Willis was arrested following an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) into allegations of police misconduct. He reportedly removed a wallet from an unlocked car while he was on duty.

The vehicle was equipped with surveillance equipment and was being used by the FDLE and the Avon Park Police Department for an undercover operation.

Willis' incarceration brings a close to that chapter in the department's history, which also included another officer's arrest.

Alberto Perez, 33, was also taken into custody in connection with the FDLE investigation. He pleaded guilty in November to charges of extortion and official misconduct.

Perez was sentenced to 18 months in the Florida State Prison system and an additional 42 months of probation.

He reportedly conducted a traffic stop on April 19, 2008 and told the driver to pay him $200 or get a ticket.

Perez was first arrested in December 2008. He was arrested again in April 2009 for a second extortion charge, and then again a few days later on a charge of perjury.

Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at 863-386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com

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