DeKalb Cop from Lilburn Sentenced in Stolen Vehicle Case

A DeKalb County policeman from Lilburn is headed to prison after being sentenced for abusing his position to help hide a stolen vehicle. Federal prosecutors said in a statement that Donald Bristol, 41, was sentenced Tuesday by a federal judge to a year and a day in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $3,000.

Bristol pleaded guilty to using his position as a policeman to help two other people hide the fact that they had a stolen vehicle, as well as illegally accessing police information to help others and lying to federal investigators when he was questioned about his activities.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said citizens deserved better than a policeman who violated the laws he had sworn to uphold. "This sentence should serve as a stark reminder that no one is above the law," she said.

Bristol started in April 2010 using his position as a county policeman to help two separately-charged individuals conceal that the car they were using was stolen, according to the case brought by prosecutors. He also misused his access to a sensitive law enforcement database.

The case was investigated by DeKalb County police and agents of the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The head of the FBI office in Atlanta, Brian D. Lamkin, said the agency placed a high priority on public-corruption investigations "because of the damage caused by this type of criminal conduct."