LOS ANGELES
A federal grand jury today indicted former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on new federal charges alleging that he conspired to obstruct justice, obstructed justice, and lied to the federal government.
The case against Baca is the result of an investigation by the FBI, and is one in a series of cases resulting from an investigation into corruption and civil rights abuses at county jail facilities in downtown Los Angeles.
As a result of the investigation, 20 current or former members of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department were convicted of federal charges.
Baca, 74, of San Marino, California, was charged Friday in a three-count superseding indictment, with one count of conspiracy to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation, one count of obstruction of justice, and one count of making false statements.
Baca withdrew his guilty plea when a judge rejected a plea deal that would allow him to serve a six-month sentence. The judge called it “too lenient” and said that it did “not fairly measure this defendant’s culpability.”
Baca is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. If convicted of the charges, Baca is facing up to 20 years in prison.