Convicted former Baltimore police detective Daniel Hesl was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison today. U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake ordered the sentence for the former Gun Trace Task Force officer after she denied his request for a new trial.

 
Hersl and his co-defendant, Marcus Taylor, were convicted in February of racketeering, robbery and fraud for stealing thousands of dollars under cover of their badges and for bilking the city for overtime hours they never worked.

Before the sentencing, Hersl’s lawyer, William Purpura, argued his client should get a new trial because prosecutors had failed to disclose that one of the witnesses against him had been arrested in an unrelated case. But Judge Blake ruled that the information would not have changed the outcome of the trial.

Guidelines called for Hersl to receive a sentence of 17 to 22 years, but Purpura argued for a more lenient sentence, siting Hersl' s mental health, alcohol abuse, and his 10-year-old son. Purpura also requested that Hersl be moved to a federal correctional facility in New Jersey.

Hersl is the sixth of the eight Gun Trace Task Force officers to be sentenced. His co-defendant, Taylor, also received an 18-year sentence earlier this month.