Ex-Cop Learns Sentence For 'Brazenly' Abusing Power: U.S. Attorney

BOLINGBROOK, IL — A Bolingbrook man, who was also a former Phoenix Police Department officer, has been sentenced to five years and three months in federal prison for conspiring to steal cash and drugs from occupants of vehicles during traffic stops, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois.

Antoine Larry, 50, was serving as a patrol officer for the Phoenix Police Department in Cook County when he conspired with another officer to corruptly solicit cash and drugs from the occupants of vehicles during traffic stops, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Larry and his partner selected their victims based on circumstances arising from the stops. If the motorist was at risk of being detained or having their car towed and the officers believed they wouldn’t report corruption, Larry and his partner solicited cash bribes in exchange for reduced charges, not towing the car, or letting the individual go without citations, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The officers then falsified police reports to conceal their corruption. The criminal conspiracy began in at least 2020 and continued until 2022.

A jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago earlier this year convicted Larry on conspiracy, extortion, and attempted extortion charges. On June 8, U.S. District Judge John F. Kness sentenced Larry to five years and three months in federal prison, according to a news release.

The other officer, Jarrett Snowden, of Lansing, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge before trial and admitted his role in the scheme. His sentencing is set for Oct. 27.

“Antoine Larry was a police officer, sworn to uphold the law, who instead brazenly abused his power,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ramon Villalpando argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “When law enforcement officers commit crimes—especially the type committed by defendant— public confidence in law enforcement as an institution is undermined.”