OAKLAND >> Not long ago, Morteza Amiri was seen as a rising star in the Antioch Police Department, a K9 officer known for finding illegal guns and racking up dozens of bites with his “fur missile,” Purcy.

Now, Amiri is a jail inmate and convicted felon, with a multi-year prison sentence on the horizon. At a court hearing Tuesday afternoon, Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White ordered Amiri into federal custody, finding his lawyer failed to overcome the presumption that he should be jail in light of his conviction of a violent felony last week.

Paul Goyette, who successfully defended Amiri against three of the five charges he faced in a trial last week, argued to White that Santa Rita Jail would be an “extraordinarily dangerous place to Mr. Amiri.” But a few moments later, U.S. marshals escorted Amiri out of the court’s side door, giving him a brief chance to shout a goodbye to a group of loved ones in the courtroom.

Amiri is set to be sentenced in June. Prosecutors have said in court filings they will seek a “significant custodial sentence,” and White — who has already sentenced another ex-East Contra Costa cop to two-and-a-half years for fraud — seems likely to oblige them.

In their successful bid to put Amiri behind bars, prosecutors revealed a previously undisclosed tense standoff between Amiri and his department’s chief in 2023.

Amiri was convicted last week of deprivation of rights for using Purcy to bite a man who didn’t deserve it, and of falsifying reports to cover up the incident, but acquitted of three other serious charges, including conspiracy. In jailing Amiri, White noted the “savagery of the attack” and Amiri’s “celebratory” text messages afterwards, in which he laughed at the man’s pain and talked about steps he took to avoid going to “court” and defending the bite.

White also cited Amiri’s “unapologetic use of slurs, which indicates that he demonizes vulnerable populations” in text messages with other Antioch cops, and his “history of covering up misconduct” including in an unrelated wire fraud case where he instructed another officer’s wife to not tell “a soul” he was paying her to take college courses in his name.

Amiri faces up to 10 years in prison for the deprivation of rights count and up to 20 years for the falsification of records, as well as 20 years in the fraud case. Sentencing guidelines will probably place his actual recommended prison term much lower.The previously undisclosed standoff between Amiri and acting Chief Joseph Vigil — revealed by prosecutors in court filings this week — occurred in May 2023, a few months before Amiri was indicted. Apparently irate that the department had taken Purcy from him, Amiri called Vigil on repeatedly, then showed up to the department to settle the issue, according to a sworn declaration filed by Vigil this week.

The result? Vigil says he was “concerned” enough for his safety to stay holed up in his department until the soon-to-be ex-K9 officer left.

“Officers spoke with (Amiri), and then told me that I should not leave the building because Mr. Amiri was possibly armed and may hurt me. They advised me he was not thinking rationally and was extremely agitated,” Vigil wrote. “I was concerned for my own safety and the safety of others at the Antioch Police Department while Mr. Amiri was on the premises.”

The incident, say prosecutors, fit a pattern of “erratic” behavior displayed by Amiri after learning he was under criminal investigation.

Sworn declarations and emails filed by federal prosecutors say that in addition to the confrontation at the police department, Amiri “aggressively” drove up to two unmarked FBI cars and peered into their windows, prompting an agent to say she grew concerned Amiri “might open fire.” He also showed up to a Municipal Pooling Office in Walnut Creek and peered into windows, prompting workers to call police and circulate an email saying Amiri previously “left everyone feeling uneasy” and “appears to be unstable.”

Amiri’s lawyers have responded that Amiri’s convictions are “aberrational and an uncharacteristic deviation from an otherwise exemplary life,” and that if he’s jailed he could be subject to retaliation from inmates and staff. They say he has “strong” community ties, runs his own business, and is needed to support his family, including a loved one who developed a medical condition after the August 2023 FBI raid on his home.

“The persistent threat of violence (in jail), coupled with the isolating reality of protective custody or administrative segregation, which is a likely outcome given his background, can inflict profound psychological distress,” Amiri’s lawyers wrote in a motion.

White flipped this argument on the defense, stating in court Amiri’s fear of retribution in jail gave him a motive to flee before sentencing.

Amiri was one of 14 ex-East Contra Costa cops charged in 2023 with crimes that ranged from serious — conspiring to violate the rights of citizens — to the almost comical, like accepting a cheap bottle of tequila as an ultimately-career-ruining bribe from a liquor store owner who didn’t want to pay a traffic ticket. In federal court, all but one ex-Antioch officer, Devon Wenger — who maintains he was thrown in with the others after attempting to expose even more corruption at the department — have either been convicted or pleaded guilty.

In his final pitch to keep Amiri free, Goyette noted the “very unique” and exceptional circumstances behind Amiri’s lone violent conviction, arguing there was very little chance Amiri would use a canine as a weapon ever again.

“Mr. Amiri does not have a police dog any longer,” Goyette said.