On June 5, 2023, Alexa Palubicki pled no contest to two felony counts of submitting a false police report. The charges relate to an incident that occurred on July 11, 2020, while Palubicki was an officer with the Sacramento Police Department, which involved falsifying the probable cause for stopping a vehicle. Sentencing is set for June 5, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. in Department 25 before the Honorable Shauna Franklin. If Palubicki does not commit another criminal offense before the sentencing, the judge will reduce the felony counts to misdemeanors and she would face a maximum sentence of 2 years in county jail.
The Sacramento District Attorney’s Office objected to the plea bargain offered by the judge and argued that Palubicki should receive felony convictions for her conduct and the charges should not be reduced to misdemeanors at sentencing. With felony convictions, Palubicki would face a maximum sentence of 3 years and 8 months in state prison.
District Attorney Thien Ho stated, “Any time a police officer falsifies a police report, it is an affront to justice and taken very seriously. As prosecutors, we must proceed only on cases where the evidence is trustworthy and legally obtained. We have the solemn duty to ensure that justice and fairness remain the touchstone of our criminal justice system.”
Immediately upon being notified of Palubicki’s conduct, the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office conducted an internal case audit to identify cases we had filed in which she participated. Pending cases in which her participation was material and necessary for prosecution were dismissed. In other cases where Palubicki participated in some manner but was not a necessary witness for trial, we notified the defense of this investigation consistent with our ethical obligations.
