Ex-Yakama tribal officer convicted of harassment

Published 12:01 am Thursday, October 6, 2011

YAKIMA — A jury convicted ex-Yakama tribal police officer Anthony Hernandez of felony harassment for threatening to kill a man he found in bed with his estranged wife.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reported the 28-year-old faces about a year-and-a-half in prison when he is sentenced.

He was acquitted Tuesday of kidnapping and reckless endangerment charges that would have brought a longer sentence.

Prosecutors said Hernandez was on in uniform and on duty when he held a 23-year-old man at gunpoint in September 2009 after finding him in the bedroom of their house in Toppenish.

Defense lawyers said Hernandez believed his estranged wife was being attacked.