Slidell Chief of Police Freddie Drennan announced Friday his department had arrested one of its own for using legal traffic stops to steal money from Hispanic males.

Jonathan M. Lutman, 25, a two-year veteran of the Slidell Police force, was charged with nine counts of theft, that includes one count of theft over $500 and eight counts of theft under $300, plus four counts of malfeasance, after an investigation turned up evidence Lutman stole cash during five routine traffic stops going back to April 6.

“It’s a sad day when I have to do this,” Drennan said at a Friday press conference. “This is a blemish on us here and law enforcement as a whole.”

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Drennan said Lutman resigned from the police department early Friday morning after he was arrested and has confessed to the five thefts. The chief said Lutman might have stolen less than $3,000 but more than $2,500.

According to the chief, two Hispanic males came to police headquarters June 27 to file a complaint that a police officer had stopped them earlier in the day in the 400 block of Pontchartrain Drive and stolen cash from their wallets. The shift commander was able to determine that Lutman was the officer who made the traffic stop.

When Lutman was confronted with the charges by the shift commander, he denied any wrongdoing.

The case was turned over to Internal Affairs but then given to the Criminal Investigation Division because the claims were criminal in nature.

Drennan said Lutman would allegedly take the wallets from the men, take out any cash, then give the wallets back. The victims would discover later the money was missing.

During the investigation detectives discovered there were nine victims, all Hispanic males. Drennan said all the traffic stops were legal.

“We are assuming he was looking for Hispanic males, but he did make other traffic stops as well,” Drennan said.

The chief said his department had some trouble tracking down the victims because of the language barrier. Detective Brian Brown is one of the few Slidell police officers who speaks Spanish, and he and Spanish-speaking agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement went into Slidell’s Hispanic community looking for victims.

“We got excellent cooperation from the Hispanic community,” Drennan said.

Some of the victims were able to give a physical description of Lutman, and others picked out his face from a lineup of photographs, Drennan said.

Detectives discovered Lutman allegedly stopped one victim twice and robbed him both times. Several times he stopped cars with more than one victim inside and robbed the driver and the passengers. So far, Lutman is accused of theft during traffic stops on April 6, April 21, May 30 and June 27. Drennan said during his confession, Lutman admitted to another theft the police didn’t know about. That theft occurred sometime between May and June and involved two victims.

Drennan said there are probably more thefts, and the investigation continues.

“There may be more victims, and we hope they come forward,” Drennan said.

The chief said he is “totally surprised” by the arrest of Lutman.

“He has a very good record. That’s what makes this so unbelievable,” Drennan said.

Police spokesman Capt. Kevin Foltz knows Lutman and said he was taken aback by the arrest.

“He was a good and quiet kid. He didn’t even curse,” Foltz said. “It’s a total surprise.”

Lutman is originally from El Paso, Texas, Foltz said.

Drennan said Lutman likely stole from Hispanics because the former officer assumed his victims would not report the thefts to the police. But Drennan added that until detectives finish interviewing Lutman, they won’t know what motivated him.

Drennan stressed his department puts recruits through an extensive background check that includes psychological and polygraph testing.

“We go above and beyond to make sure we get the best for the force,” Drennan said. “All I can figure is that he (Lutman) changed after he came onto the force.”

The four malfeasance charges against Lutman are particularly troubling to Drennan. Malfeasance is wrongdoing by public servants.

“He used his position to steal from these people. He used his position for personal gain,” Drennan said.

Foltz said the penalty for malfeasance is five years at hard labor.

Drennan said the investigation is wide-ranging. Even though there is no evidence other officers were involved, Drennan said his investigators are looking at everything.

“We are looking at other traffic stops and police records. We are not closing our eyes on this,” Drennan said. “We will go above and beyond to find all the victims.”

That may be a tough job. Foltz said the Hispanic population in Slidell is mistrustful of police in general.

“They fear the police in their native countries, and this makes it harder for them to trust us,” Foltz said.

Even with Detective Brown as the liaison officer between the SPD and the Hispanic community, Drennan and Foltz said there will be a lot of work ahead.

“It will take us awhile to rebuild their confidence,” Foltz said.

Drennan said as the investigation continues, he expects more charges to be filed against Lutman. By Friday afternoon, Lutman was still being questioned by detectives.