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Former Sheriff Lee Baca Will Go To Trial After Withdrawing His Guilty Plea
Lee Baca holds a press conference in 2007. (Photo by Chad Buchanan/Getty Images)
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has decided to plead not guilty to charges that he lied to federal investigators, and will now stand trial.
The decision came on Monday afternoon, two weeks after a judge rejected Baca's previous deal with prosecutors, saying the 6-month sentence would have been too lenient. The Daily News reports that Baca's hearing on Monday was delayed until 1:30 p.m. in order for his attorneys to work out a new deal with prosecutors. No deal was struck.
Baca's trial will begin on September 20.
In February, Baca plead guilty in a deal with federal prosecutors over their investigation into the corruption and abuse in the jail system. Former undersheriff Paul Tanaka was sentenced to five years in prison in June.
Baca resigned from his position in 2014 in the midst of the federal investigation. Baca's attorneys are pushing for a lighter sentence because he is suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
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