MINNEAPOLIS -- A former Eden Prairie police officer who admitted stealing the identity of Minnesota Vikings running back Michael Bennett won't spend any time in jail, a judge decided Thursday.
Brent Griffith, 37, instead got three years of probation and was
ordered to pay $117 in restitution.
Griffith stole mail from at least two players while moonlighting
as a security guard for the Vikings and used the mail to get credit
cards in their names, authorities said. He got caught after just a
few illegal purchases and was fired from both jobs. He pleaded
guilty in October to one felony count of financial transaction card
fraud.
Griffith told District Judge Richard Hopper on Thursday that he
got wrapped up in the celebrity of the Vikings and his police job.
Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar was disappointed the
sentence didn't include at least six months of jail time.
"We felt that workhouse time was important due to the fact that
this man was in a position of trust," Klobuchar said.
But Griffith's attorney, Larry Rapoport, said Griffith had
already paid dearly.
"He was a police officer for 10 years," Rapoport said. "He
made a bad mistake. He lost everything he had. He's got to start
all over again."
Hopper told Griffith what he did was stupid and he'll pay for it
the rest of his life.
"I'd hate to see the state of mind you were in when you were
carrying a gun and enforcing the law," Hopper said.
Griffith, a former offensive lineman at Minnesota Duluth, was
taken in the seventh round of the 1990 NFL draft by Buffalo, where
he played for a season. He had a tryout with the Vikings in 1992.