A former Los Angeles police officer pled guilty this week to two Federal felony charges stemming from a 1996 shooting. Rafael Perez and his former partner Nino Durden shot and paralyzed Javier Francisco Ovando during a gang surveillance operation. After realizing Ovando was unarmed, the officers planted a gun on the victim. Perez pled guilty to one count of violating Ovando's civil rights and one count of possessing a firearm without a serial number. Both officers face several years in prison.

Perez previously made headlines in 1999 when he was arrested for stealing several pounds of cocaine from a police evidence locker. He was released from custody last July after serving nearly three years in jail. Shortly after his arrest, Perez, through a plea bargain, exposed corruption in the LAPD's Rampart Division. As a result of the officer's information, over 100 criminal convictions have been overturned since the investigation of the Rampart Division began. Attorneys say damages from civil lawsuits stemming from the scandal may exceed $125 million.