I am going to start this blog by saying that I am NOT a cop hater. I worked for a small police agency while I was in college and that was one of several experiences that tended to spark my interest in criminal law. In law school I worked for a local criminal prosecutor and am still friendly with some of the people I met and worked with decades ago.
I believed then, as I still do today, that most police officers are generally good and honest people who are working at a difficult job. As a defense attorney it is my job to do everything in my power to see that no client is every wrongly convicted, overly charged, punished unfairly or mistreated within the criminal justice system.
For these reasons I am disgusted to write that two more Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies have been indicted this week. The two, Joey Aguiar 26 and Mariano Ramirez, 38, have been charged with punching, kicking and pepper spraying a handcuffed inmate in the jail. They are also charged with hitting the inmate with a flashlight and writing false reports to cover up their actions which were said to have occurred in 2009.
Both deputies are due in federal court in Los Angeles, California on March 6. Neither was arrested but sheriff’s personnel indicates that one of the deputies is being processed for administrative leave without pay and the other has already been relieved of duty from a separate and unrelated problem. The deputies face a maximum possible punishment of over 20 years in federal prison.
These charges came to the public eye after a priest working in the jail reported that he witnessed some apparent wrongdoing. He made reports to sheriff’s personnel but no action was taken against either deputy. It is unknown why the federal government took over four years to file charges in this case.
If you or someone you know has been charged with a crime, call an attorney that knows how to navigate the criminal justice system and has been doing it for decades. Call me, Attorney Jeffrey Vallens (818) 783-5700 or (888) 764-4340 or email me at: vallenslaw@yahoo.com or visit my sites for more information: www.vallenslaw@yahoo.com or www.westlakecriminaldefense.com