Jury Acquits LA Sheriff's Deputy on 1 Charge, Deadlocks on Another in Jail Abuse Scandal

By FRED SHUSTER

LOS ANGELES, CA -- A jury today acquitted a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy of filing phony reports to cover-up of the beating of a handcuffed visitor to Men's Central Jail, but the panel deadlocked on a charge of lying to the FBI.

Byron Dredd, 34, is the sixth sheriff's official to be prosecuted in the assault on Gabriel Carrillo and its aftermath. Three others were previously convicted by a jury and two ex-lawmen struck deals with prosecutors.

Dredd was charged in a three-count indictment alleging conspiracy to violate Carrillo's civil rights and two counts of making false reports.

The jury began discussions Friday and reached unanimous verdicts on two counts Tuesday. The judge then put the verdicts under seal and sent the panel back to resume deliberating.

The jury foreperson told U.S. District Judge George King today that a unanimous verdict could not be reached in the third count, and not guilty verdicts on charges of civil rights conspiracy and falsification of records were announced.

At a status conference on Monday, prosecutors are expected to announce whether they will retry Dredd on the false statements count.

Although Dredd was not involved in the beating of Carrillo, prosecutors argued that he helped his five co-defendants fabricate reports and that he subsequently lied to the FBI during an interview in July 2012.

Dredd -- who is on paid leave from the department -- testified in his own defense that his written report was "manipulated" by his boss, but said he did not lie to the FBI about what transpired with Carrillo.

Carrillo and the two ex-deputies who signed plea agreements testified against Dredd in Los Angeles federal court.

Like his co-defendants, Dredd was assigned to the visiting center at the downtown jail.

On Feb. 26, 2011, Carrillo and his girlfriend went to the jail to visit his incarcerated brother. Both visitors had cell phones in their possession, which is prohibited under jail rules.

When the phones were discovered, Carrillo was handcuffed and brought into an employee break room, where he was beaten and sprayed with a burning agent similar to pepper spray, evidence at a previous trial showed.

The victim was later transferred to the hospital by paramedics. As a result of false statements made by the previously convicted deputies and allegedly made by Dredd, Carrillo was charged with several crimes, including resisting an officer and battery.

The indictment against Dredd contends he wrote an incident report in which he falsely claimed that when one of Carrillo's hands was uncuffed for fingerprinting, he attacked deputies and tried to escape.

After Carrillo's attorney produced photographs showing injuries to both of Carrillo's wrists, corroborating the assertion that he was handcuffed during the beating, the county district attorney's office dropped the charges against the beating victim.

Carrillo, an ex-forklift operator, received almost $1.2 million to settle his civil rights lawsuit.

Had he been convicted of all charges, Dredd could have faced as much as 35 years in federal prison -- up to 10 years for the civil rights conspiracy, up to 20 years for the falsification of records, and up to five years for making false statements to the FBI.

The case is the result of a wide-ranging investigation into corruption and civil rights abuses at county jail facilities.

As a result, nearly two dozen former sheriff's officials -- including the department's ex-second-in-command, Paul Tanaka -- have been convicted of federal charges.

Former Sheriff Lee Baca faces trial in December for allegedly conspiring to obstruct the 2011 probe into misconduct by jail deputies.

Tanaka was sentenced to five years in prison and is expected to ask a judge this afternoon to allow him to remain free pending appeal, despite an order to self-surrender next week to start his sentence.

City News Service