LA County Sheriff's Deputy Convicted Of Repeatedly Assaulting Girlfriend Last Christmas
SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy has been convicted of repeatedly assaulting a girlfriend after she discovered on Christmas Day last year that he was having an affair with another woman.
Mark Eric Hibner, 44, of Anaheim, was found guilty by a jury Tuesday of two felony counts of domestic battery with corporal injury and three felony counts of criminal threats.
Hibner, a 22-year deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department, had been romantically involved with the woman for several years. The couple argued on Christmas Day 2012 after she discovered a sexually aggressive voicemail from another woman on Hibner's cell phone, prosecutors said.
Over the next few weeks, prosecutors say Hibner assaulted his girlfriend, spit on her, dragged her around by her hair, threw a lit cigarette at her and threatened to kill her as they continued to argue about his affair.
Hibner also threatened to kill a woman, with whom he previously had a romantic relationship and a minor child, if she appeared in court at a hearing regarding a protective order for the crimes against his current girlfriend, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors declined to say whether the woman was an ex-girlfriend or ex-wife to protect her identity.
Hibner's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 15. He faces a maximum sentence of eight years in state prison.
Hibner is still employed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy, but the process to terminate him began last night, Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
