Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca went lacking from his residence in San Marino on Sunday afternoon, based on authorities.
Baca, now 82, has been identified with Alzheimer’s illness, The Occasions beforehand reported.
The previous sheriff was final seen leaving his residence round 4:30 p.m., officers stated. He was carrying a purple long-sleeved shirt and black pants, based on an inside division message. He ought to be carrying a metallic medical alert bracelet, the message stated.
“His household, pals and colleagues together with members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division is anxious for his well-being,” a Sheriff’s Division spokesperson informed The Occasions on Sunday night. “We’re in touch along with his household, providing our help and assist throughout this troublesome time.”
The division stated it will be offering further sources to help the San Marino Police Division with the search.
Raised by his grandparents in East Los Angeles, Baca dropped out of neighborhood faculty and was employed as a beat cop with the Sheriff’s Division. He labored his manner up the ranks, finally incomes a doctorate from USC. He labored for the division for a number of a long time earlier than changing into the county’s prime cop in 1998.
Towards the top of his tenure, the division was engulfed in a scandal that in the end landed him and a number of other others in federal jail. He stepped down in 2014.
The 2011 scandal that tarnished his status as a reformer concerned hiding an inmate who was an FBI informant after which threatening to arrest the agent who was main the investigation. All 10 of these within the division who confronted prices within the case both pleaded responsible or have been convicted, together with former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who was sentenced to 5 years in jail after a jury discovered he helped lead the scheme.
A number of different deputies have been discovered responsible of civil rights violations for beatings of inmates and jail guests.
At trial, federal prosecutors targeted on Baca’s efforts to impede the investigation, saying Tanaka had spearheaded the obstruction and saved Baca within the loop about its progress. Baca’s attorneys argued that he by no means licensed wrongdoing and that there was no onerous proof instantly linking him to the obstruction scheme.
At one level, Baca deliberate to take a plea deal, however a federal decide stated it was too lenient and the case went to trial — twice. After one mistrial, he was convicted and in 2017 he was sentenced to 3 years in federal jail.
He spent a number of years combating his conviction in courtroom. After shedding his appeals, he started his sentence in 2020 on the Federal Correctional Establishment in La Tuna.
He was launched in January 2022, based on federal jail data.
