2 Former Deputies Get Terms of 7 Years : Courts: They are among 11 convicted of skimming drug money. The judge says he wanted to send a message to other officers.

Two former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were sentenced Monday to seven-year prison terms for their role in a drug money-skimming scandal that the judge said had seriously damaged the Sheriff’s Department and eroded public confidence in local law enforcement.

Robert Juarez and Tyrone Powe, two ex-members of an elite sheriff’s narcotics team, were sentenced after their convictions last April on conspiracy, theft and tax evasion charges.

While rejecting prosecution recommendation of 10-year terms, U.S. District Judge William J. Rea said both men should be imprisoned for their roles in a corruption scandal that has resulted in the convictions of nine other former narcotics officers.

“We need to let other officers know if they have an inkling of doing the same thing . . . if they are caught, they will be punished,” the judge said.

As the defendants were brought before him individually, Rea also said the ex-deputies had betrayed their public trust when they “fell prey to temptation” in stealing cash from drug traffickers and money launderers.

Evidence presented at their trial showed that the two deputies--both of whom were veteran officers with exemplary records--had been working with a major anti-drug team when thefts took place, including more than $200,000 taken during one raid and split by officers in a Norwalk motel room.

Since the scandal broke nearly three years ago, more than 30 deputies have been suspended, 20 officers have been indicted and the department’s major drug investigation teams have been dismantled--a fallout from the money-skimming case that Rea said Monday was a factor in his sentencing.

“I don’t think anyone can really put their finger on the damage that was done,” he said.

In addition to sentencing the two deputies, Rea also imposed a two-year prison sentence on a third defendant--Yhvona Garner, whose husband, Daniel, was convicted in the money-skimming case. The same jury that convicted Juarez and Powe also found Garner guilty of laundering stolen drug cash and signing a false income tax return that concealed tens of thousands of dollars in stolen drug money.

Philip Deitch, Garner’s defense attorney, had asked the judge to place his client on probation as a show of compassion and maintained that Garner was unaware that the money she had been depositing in family bank accounts was stolen.

But the judge said Garner had to know something was amiss--after depositing funds that were far in excess of what her husband earned as a sheriff’s deputy.

“It’s a tragic situation,” the judge said. “I recognize that Mrs. Garner is not as culpable as the other defendants, but she is culpable.”

After hearing her sentence, Garner, 43, who is free on bail, returned to her seat in the courtroom where she was greeted by family and friends, including her son who hugged her as both wept.

Relatives and friends also were on hand to offer support for Powe, 39, and Juarez, 46.