A former Los Angeles Police Department officer was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for his role in a 2024 home invasion robbery in Koreatown in which he and a group of co-conspirators stole $350,000 worth of cryptocurrency from a teenager.

The ex-officer, Eric Halem, made a last-ditch request for new trial that was rejected by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mildred Escobedo. The judge said she wrestled with her decision on Halem’s punishment, changing her mind several times before sentencing him to concurrent life terms for kidnapping and robbery.

Escobedo acknowledged receiving letters from Halem’s family and friends that described him as an honorable, caring man and a loving father. But she said the evidence presented…