Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca is set to be sentenced today for lying to federal investigators during an FBI probe of civil rights violations in the jail system.
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That judge… Percy Anderson.said that deal would have trivialized Baca’s role in a conspiracy that has led to multiple convictions of former sheriff’s officials.
Baca pleaded guilty February 10 after denying for years that he had played any role in the wide-ranging scandal that stained the department and led to his retirement.
Baca’s side argued that he should not get any jail time, in part because he shows the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
The agreement required Baca, 74, to plead guilty to lying to FBI investigators during an interview in April 2013 related to department corruption and deputy conduct. His diagnosis was revealed less than a month before the sentencing.
Zweiback said any time behind bars would exacerbate Baca’s Alzheimer’s and that his client would be particularly vulnerable among prisoners because of his former status as sheriff.
Anderson said Baca’s lies not only derailed the investigation but, as well, “deputies were taught how to cover up abuses committed by fellow deputies, how to look the other way, how to shield the department from embarrassment – all of which led to fostering an us-versus-them mentality and unwritten codes that taught deputies that when an inmate dared attempt to harm a deputy, deputies would respond with enough violence to send that inmate to the hospital”. After jailers discovered the phone and concluded that Brown was cooperating with the FBI, Baca ordered Brown isolated from the rest of the jail population, prosecutors said.
Baca’s hearing is part of one of the most extensive criminal probes into a local law enforcement agency the federal government has pursued in recent years.
That Baca would order deputies to threaten the arrest of an FBI agent investigating his jails was an example of the former sheriff’s hubris.
Prosecutors note in the document that Baca lied to investigators to either avoid “political fallout” or to avoid criminal charges.
Prosecutors consulted with a medical expert who reviewed Baca’s test results and clinical reports, confirming that the former sheriff is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, but his cognitive impairment so far is mild.
“It’s one thing to lie to an assistant USA attorney”, Anderson said at the conclusion of the 90-minute hearing. Since then, 21 members of the sheriff’s office have been convicted of federal crimes that involve beating inmates and obstructing justice.
O’Connell described the agreement with Baca as “troubling”. The false statement Baca made was to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and USA attorneys in April 2013.
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“He accepted responsibility”, Williams said, adding that Baca’s agreement was “very favorable”.
