Former DeKalb officer pleads to federal charges

ATLANTA — A former DeKalb County police officer admitted that he helped others possess and hide a stolen vehicle, unlawfully accessed governmental information, and lied to federal agents while an officer.

Donald Bristol, 41, pleaded guilty in federal district court to aiding others to possess and hide a stolen vehicle, to unlawfully accessing governmental information, and to lying to federal agents. Bristol faces up 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced Oct. 18.

“This defendant was a criminal in a police officer’s uniform,” United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said said in a statement. “The evidence showed that during his tenure as a police officer, he violated the very laws that he had sworn to enforce—and then lied about it to federal agents.”