They met at a festival. He was a sheriff's deputy — and a stalker, her lawsuit claims

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Briana Ortega claims in a civil lawsuit that a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy used law enforcement databases to find and harass her.

The deputy, who has since resigned from the department, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges but could still work as a police officer.

LA QUINTA — Briana Ortega had been home for all of three minutes when she heard a fist pounding against her door.

She opened it to find a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy “claiming a black man with dreadlocks had jumped over her backyard fence” and was trying to break into her La Quinta home, according to court records.

Almost immediately, Ortega, 29, suspected Deputy Eric Piscatella was there for other reason