Ex-Torrance Officer Faces Sentencing For Illegal Gun Sales.

A former Torrance police officer will be sentenced Thursday for selling dozens of guns illegally while on the force.

Lindley Hupp, 32, of Long Beach, pleaded guilty in December to dealing in firearms without a federal license and falsely certifying that he was the buyer of a Glock handgun that actually was intended for someone else.

Prosecutors said Hupp sold at least 48 firearms during an 8 1/2-year period while working with the Torrance Police Department and another two in 2011, when he was an auxiliary officer with the Pasadena police force.

Law enforcement officers are permitted to buy what are known as "off roster" guns that people without a badge can't buy directly from a licensed dealer. Thirty-six of the 48 guns Hupp sold were "off roster" arms, federal prosecutors said.

The government has agreed to recommend a prison sentence of not more than 18 months, but the ultimate decision belongs to the judge, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.