Former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca was originally due to be sentenced on Monday, July 11 in the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson.
The sentencing hearing has now been rescheduled for Monday, July 18, at 8:30 a.m., still in front of Percy Anderson.
In mid February of this year, Baca pleaded guilty to one felony count of lying to federal authorities when officials questioned him in the course of a wide-ranging investigation into “corruption and civil rights violations” in the department he’d led for fifteen years.
Specifically, Baca admitted that he lied to the FBI and members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office during a round of questioning on April 12, 2013. At that time, among other denials by Baca, the former sheriff falsely claimed ignorance of the fact that, in 2011, two LASD sergeants were going to approach FBI special agent, Leah Marx, and threaten her with arrest, hoping to get information about the feds’ rapidly expanding investigation into brutality by deputies in the county’s large jail system.
In fact, Baca has now admitted, he gave instructions that the officers “should do everything but put handcuffs on her.” Her being Agent Marx.
According to Baca’s plea deal with the U.S. Government, his proposed sentence will be between 0 to 6 months in a federal prison. But Judge Anderson has the option of going outside the parameters of the deal and could give the former sheriff as much as five years in a federal lock-up. However, if the judge were to go beyond the 0 to 6 boundaries, it would render the plea deal null and void.
Then Baca and his attorneys would have to decide whether or not they wish to take the risk going to trial, or simply accept a greater sentence than that agreed to in the deal.
The the fact that the former sheriff has been diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s disease, may also be a factor in Baca’s sentencing. (WitnessLA broke that story in May.)
The ongoing exchange of legal briefs and expert opinion on the matter of Baca’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis is the reason for this latest delay.
More details soon.
Photo of Lee Baca by Saxon Brice
Celeste, Instead of the “woe is me picture” of Leroy, as the media likes to portray a victim, how about one that shows his arrogance. His handlers are playing the media like they’ve done all these years. Leroy doesn’t need sympathy, he needs time in custody to reflect on how he destroyed a Department with the help of his enabler’s Stonich, Waldie, Tanaka and the coin holders.
Dear “Hadtoadd,”
Interesting point. To be honest, when I put up the post, it was just the first picture that came to hand, that didn’t relate to a particular event. It was taken a month or two before he resigned.
(With very rare exceptions we only use photos that we have taken, or that someone has taken in our behalf—unless they are made available for public use.)
I don’t think we’ve ever portrayed him as a victim, because that sure isn’t our view of Baca.
But perhaps I’ve overused this one. In any case, anything taken at one of the legal hearings will not feature an arrogant Baca. He mostly looks shellshocked.
Yet, I appreciate your comment. I makes me think about what the image is communicating.
C.
This whole thing stinks of class bias. Baca , the educated Hispanic progressive who said all the right things and hung out with all the right people, deserves consideration. Sorry, he ought to be punished more severely than the rest, after all he was in charge.
So now he’s “Finessing” Judge Anderson? Your Honor, please tell me you learned about Charlatans, Con Artists, and Swindlers in law school.
Nobody is “Finessing” Anderson. Thats what a soft convicted felon looks like! Scheming a medical condition to avoid a 6 month sentence, what a punk POS! Baca has a retirement that that makes the retirement of the POTUS look like chump change! Go do your 6 month sentence STFU and disappear!!
Nicobar,
Couldn’t agree more.
Stuff,
You summed it up succinctly and PRECISELY.
Outstanding.
If anything, Baca does look constipated in the photo. He was and is figuratively full of shit.
Now wouldn’t it be something if Baca’s defense team filed a motion that Baca never intentionally or knowingly committed a crime? Worked for Hillary!
If Mr. Baca does have dementia, whats the purpose of putting him in jail ?
Lonestar: Justice?
9: His dementia is slight according to reports. Maybe he’ll find a cure while in prison?
LATBG- I just saw your post on the other article and I’m curious about your defense of Obama and what you meant by insulting a Governor who stated the Dallas shootings were racially motivated. First, in his 16-minute speech to the country, Obama said the two separate police shootings (in different cities) were not isolated incidents. He referred to them as “symptomatic” of rampant racism in the criminal justice system. Second, the Dallas suspect made comments how he wanted to “kill white people”, in particular white police officers. He had also connected to the New Black Panthers on Facebook, an organization who has professed to violence against white people, particularly the Jews. So please clarify your comments. I so desperately want to take you serious, therefore, I’ll allow you the opportunity to enlighten us all. And please spare me the multi-layered, complicated, class system, socio-dynamic bullshit. I took that course which ended in me calling out the professor.
Cops4Trump, I’ve learned a while back that what people claim Obama said, versus what he actually said AND the context within which he said it are many times lost in partisan hatred. A lot of it just made up by RWNJ’s, and has no basis in fact. Textbook example is the speech in Dallas during the memorial service. I heard it live, from start to end, along with the words of Bush Jr., the mayor, and the chief of police. He received three standing ovations from mostly law enforcement crowd, said all sorts of things the right wing echo chamber claims he would never say, and did a pretty decent job in acknowledging the entire picture of mistrust between the black community and the police.
There is a learning curve with POTUS, just like every other job. He was too quick with his mouth in the Cambridge beer summit caper, but he learned to dial it back and be more judicious. History will reflect that he was a better than average president stuck in a really bad period in our country’s times, one where partisan hatred is at historical highs, social media is changing the manner in which people get information, and the 1%ers laugh all the way to the bank.
If you took the time to call out your professor when you were a student, maybe you can share with all your well-informed theories.
LATBG, are you kidding? He dialed it back? I guess you think him getting involved in the middle of the Ferguson thing by sending in Eric Holder while the fires were still burning was “dialing it back?” Or him weighing in during the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman controversy – where Zimmerman was found NOT guilty?
I also listened to his comments at the Dallas Memorial service. Agree, he did pretty well for about 10 minutes talking about what a difficult job the police have. Then he abruptly made a LEFT turn and started talking about the disproportionate number of blacks being arrested and incarcerated, that black kids in the ghetto can get a gun easier than they can get books. What???? This was a memorial for FIVE DEAD police officers killed by a RACIST. PERIOD!!! Leave the politics for another time and place.
Sometimes you are pretty well thought out. Other times, one thinks you are on a heavy dose of meds or J.D. Stick to going after the villains inside and out at the LASD.
“Better than average president” OMG!
It would be nice if Leroy would cease wearing the LASD lapel pin when he appears in court.