A former police officer thought there was no harm in making a quick buck at a local pawn shop; except it turned out to be a crime, especially since the items that he sold were meant to be evidence in cases he was investigating.

In the period between December 2014 and May 2015, Thomas Keith Rudenick, a deputy of Ramsey County, Minnesota traded stolen items worth up to $5,200.




Recently, he pleaded guilty to theft.

In July he was accused of the charge he admitted as well as police officer misconduct.

He was offered a plea deal and as part of it, the second charge of misdemeanor will be dismissed in a sentencing next month.

Rudenick has agreed to reimburse his victims.

The disgraced officer had retired in February this year after serving 26 years with the sheriff’s department.

His criminal activities only came to light after he retired when the department employees started looked into his files and found that there were a number of unresolved cases.

In one instance, an officer contacted woman who had been burgled to check if Rudenick had returned her items.

The suspicions were confirmed when she said she still did not have her things.

The officer noticed that the retired deputy had not entered these items as evidence.

So, he checked the automated pawn system and learned that Rudenick had pawned the missing property.

On June 11 the police detained Rudenick after carrying out a search at his home.

He told the investigators that he had been pawning his own jewelry, of clubs and cameras.

During his interview, one of the detectives heard him tell his wife that he had pawned the items because he needed money.

To avoid a conflict interest the investigation was handled by the Washington County attorney’s office.