Federal Prosecutors to Take Another Stab at Former LA Sheriff Lee Baca

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Federal prosecutors will retry former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on corruption charges for allegedly trying to thwart an FBI investigation into the abuse of inmates at LA County jails.

Tuesday's announcement comes less than a month after the first trial ended in a mistrial with jurors leaning heavily in favor of acquittal.

With jurors saying they were hopelessly deadlocked, a judge declared a mistrial in December in the federal corruption trial of Baca, saying the possibility of "coercion" played a role in his decision.

U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson suggested that the "complexity" of the case, particularly difficulty grasping the concept of "intent," played a role in the jury's inability to reach a decision. He said he also considered possibly effects of exhaustion.

Without elaborating, Anderson added, "I've considered the possible effect of coercion -- there was a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial in this case. ... I believe the ends of the public are served by declaring a mistrial."

The mistrial came on the fourth day of deliberations by the six-man, six- woman jury in downtown Los Angeles. Earlier in the day Thursday, attorneys in the case had a nearly hour-long series of private, sidebar discussions with the judge that at times included one of the jurors and Baca.

At the time, there was no public announcement of what the discussions entailed, despite objections from some members of the media in the courtroom audience.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report. Photo: Neon Tommy via Wikimedia Commons