Prosecutors have charged a former Los Angeles police officer in a kidnapping for ransom that occurred when he was still an active reserve officer.

The December incident, which authorities said involved the former officer and three other men, began with a Koreatown home invasion. Eric Halem and another man are accused of then kidnapping a man and forcing him to turn over $200,000 in cryptocurrency.

Halem, 37, was arrested Thursday afternoon by members of the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division and held without bail. Halem served about 13 years as an officer before becoming a reserve officer. In addition to kidnapping for ransom, which carries a potential life sentence, he is charged with a separate count of kidnapping, along with four counts of robbery in connection with the home invasion.

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