Houston police have suspended an officer accused of robbing undocumented Mexican immigrants he stopped while on patrol in the Galleria area.

Stefan Riha, 29, was arrested while on duty Tuesday night, snared in a sting operation as part of an investigation by HPD's internal affairs division. The patrol officer, who was charged with theft by a public servant, allegedly took $1,100 from an undercover officer, a police source familiar with the investigation said.

"He would stop someone on a traffic violation, search them, and take the money ... those are the allegations,“ said the source, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the inquiry. "It's not the first time he was accused. There were other complaints. There were allegations of $800 and other amounts ... it's quite a bit of money."

2 sustained allegations

Riha allegedly preyed on undocumented immigrants in his patrol area in the midwest patrol division, where many are known to carry large sums of money.

"If these people are here illegally and are working, many don't have a bank account so they carry the money with them," the source said.

Riha is Hispanic and speaks Spanish fluently, the source said.

Riha, who was suspended with pay after the arrest, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

The officer has two previous sustained internal affairs allegations against him, including a April 2010 violation for causing an accident and a January 2008 complaint for not completing an official report, according to a database of HPD complaints.

Riha, who became an officer in April 2007, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted of the third-degree felony. He is free on $5,000 bail.

Because Riha was arrested as part of an internal investigation, police authorities would not release details of the allegations, said HPD spokesman Kese Smith. In Harris County Court records, prosecutors allege he stole an unspecified amount of cash from a person, identified as R. Cruz, by using his status as a public servant.

Riha is a member of the Houston Police Officers Union. He has not contacted the union about legal representation, said union president Gary Blankinship. Court records do not show whether he has an attorney.

Last month, a Houston woman settled a civil rights suit against Riha and another Houston police officer related to serious injuries she received during her arrest by Riha in January 2008.

Araceli "Sally" Perez was awakened at 2 a.m. by officers who were looking for her boyfriend, who had been sent there from a bar in a taxi. The cab driver flagged down police when Perez's boyfriend could not pay the fare, and they refused her offers to pay the cabbie with a check.

'A broken-up face'

Police tried to collect the fare from the boyfriend, and when they detained him, Perez came outside her home to plead with officers not to hurt him, said her civil attorney, Bryan C. Mitchell.

"She had a broken-up face and her arm was snapped above the elbow,“ said Mitchell. "She was pushed against a brick wall, her face into a brick wall, and thrown to the ground, and officer Riha was on top of her."

During the arrest, Riha jumped on Perez and held her arms down, breaking one of them, Mitchell said. The officer claimed he had grabbed Perez in a bear hug and then slipped and fell on her, and the injuries to the woman were accidental, Mitchell said.

He said the charges against Perez of assaulting a police officer were dismissed, as were charges against her boyfriend.

The civil case was settled by the City of Houston after mediation.

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