LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty Tuesday to lying to FBI investigators and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in a use-of-force case against fellow jail guards.
As part of his plea, Noel Womack, 36, agreed to resign permanently from the sheriff’s department and never seek employment with any law enforcement agency.
Standing before U.S. District Judge George King, Womack responded, “Yes I did, your honor,” when asked if he had indeed lied to FBI investigators.
At sentencing Aug. 31, Womack faces up to five years in federal prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine, King said.
Womack acknowledged that in February 2011, while working as a guard at the visiting center at the Men’s Central Jail, he saw two fellow deputies beat a man who was handcuffed with both hands behind his back, and “unnecessarily” punched him five times in the leg.
He then wrote a false report stating that the victim had not been handcuffed, and subsequently testified falsely at a preliminary hearing for the man, identified in court papers as GC, according to his 19-page plea agreement filed in federal court.
In subsequent interviews with sheriff’s internal affairs investigators, Womack stated that the victim had not been handcuffed and he had not seen any excessive force used against GC, according to the document.
In a May 11 interview with FBI agents looking into excessive force allegations at the jail’s visiting center, Womack falsely stated that he did not know if GC was handcuffed when he struck him, that co-defendant Sgt. Eric Gonzalez had directed him to strike GC and that the use of force was justified, according to the plea agreement.
The plea comes against the backdrop of a use-of-force case against Gonzalez and deputies Sussie Ayala and Fernando Luviano, who are facing trial this month for allegedly illegally arresting or detaining people when they tried to visit inmates at the jail.
A fifth deputy, Pantamitr Zunggeemoge, pleaded guilty earlier this year and is awaiting sentencing.
Womack and Zunggeemoge are expected to testify, if called upon, against their former colleagues.
In another downtown courtroom, former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka and ex-sheriff’s captain Tom Carey are expected to face trial this fall on obstruction of justice charges.
The charges against Tanaka and Carey brought to 22 the number of current or former sheriff’s officials charged in an ongoing federal probe into corruption and civil rights violations by guards at two downtown jail facilities.
Tanaka — who is on a leave of absence as mayor of Gardena — and Carey, who oversaw an internal sheriff’s criminal investigations unit, have denied charges contained in a five-count indictment returned May 13 by a federal grand jury.
The former sheriff’s officials are accused of orchestrating a scheme to thwart a federal probe into deputy misconduct at county jails. Both are charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, and each is named in one count of obstruction of justice. Carey is charged with two counts of lying on the witness stand last year during the trials of co-conspirators. If convicted, the men face the possibility of multiple years in federal prison.
Carey was head of the department’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau, until he retired in March.
Tanaka, who, like Carey, testified for the defense at all three trials thus far in the federal probe, retired from the department in 2013.
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Cali Palmdale says
Nothing wrong here in sure they are not in Jail for being good people so if they get an extra beating that comes as a courtesy free no extra time. SOMETIMES I see how people behave in the street and I feel like giving them a beating myself to many ghetto thugs have no respect for them self less for any other human being I think a good beat down will make them think a Little and behave 1% better. IF I ever go to jail believe I will respect the Law officers if I don’t I know what will happen and not cause of these case its just common sense you act bad when you are locked up with the deputies hum that shows how much you just don’t give a cra+ about life.
joe says
Noel, if you get lonely in jail ask for Deputy Jose Rigoberto Sanchez
He’ll help you get hooked up, he’s good at it.
callout says
silly call out some deputies name to think anyone would even follow your statements get real. A few Sheriff’s get heavy handed and who would not working with the waste of life’s in county. Big talkers, Most those deputies have far more hand to hand fighting than you will ever see in your waste of breath life. I’d be tired too of dealing with scum…grow up losers. Funny your the same clown that will say support the troops then when 70% of the cops are veterans you call them pigs. Losers
ERIK says
“your the same clown that will say support the troops then when 70% of the cops are veterans and you call them pigs.”
-This statement is so true. I think that is why the sheriffs get so irritated. A lot of them have served overseas and have seen how bad things can get. They come home and find a spoiled society that does not care about the community, family, the law, or education. It’s “gimme, gimme, gimme.”
I put police officers in the same light as our military. There are some bad-apples at times, sure, but the majority are here to serve and uphold the law. I have the utmost respect for them and am proud of the sheriffs department.
AV Resident says
Quote: ” I think that is why the sheriffs get so irritated. A lot of them have served overseas and have seen how bad things can get. They come home and find a spoiled society that does not care about the community, family, the law, or education. It’s ‘gimme, gimme, gimme.”'”
Did you even read the article you are commenting under?
Just because a deputy sheriff served in the military and regardless of how bad what the saw was, does not give them the right, the authority nor a free pass to beat up people, to illegally arrest/detain someone visiting an inmate, to lie to investigators, to file false police reports, or to to rat out their corrupt boss all while the corruption started with the one doing the rattling (Tanaka)…
ERIK says
I read the article. I have been on top of this from the beginning. Yes, it reminded me of an Abu Ghraib type situation. I’m still fond of the military and I am still fond of the sheriffs department.
I did not vote for Tanaka, do not like him, and could not believe he had the balls to run for office. The corruption he caused is being brought to the forefront and is being dealt with. This is a good thing.
Tim Scott says
Riiiiiight.
The poor deputies no doubt find it so irritating that a career in law ENFORCEMENT would involve actually having to OBEY THE LAW. Poor babies.
This sort of blind apologizing for their blatant crimes turns my stomach.
Tim Scott says
I’m all for supporting veterans, but that doesn’t mean I will turn a blind eye if they opt to become thugs. I’m a veteran too, that doesn’t mean I expect a free pass.
ANONAV says
Cops crack me up. They make a career incarcerating people, many of whom committed lesser “crimes” than the pigs themselves are breaking on a regular basis.
ANONAV says
The only good cop is a …
Tim Scott says
…cop who knows that the FBI is right there looking over their shoulder?
done says
You must be associated with the tapestry commission.
tough deal says
Only thing wrong is they should put the judge and jurors in county and see what’s real and what’s not I have seen this first hand, the Sheriffs have attitude for sure but you should try to just do your time without 90% of the inmates trying not take advantage of you in more ways than one. The jail other than a few DUI and paper crime people is filled with gangs molesters and freaks. I hated being in there but even more was what was around me. TOTAL scum 90% and half are trying to figure how to ruin your day when they get out. Get real it woke me up, For once I think people should let the Sheriffs deal with it how they want.
AV Resident says
Quote: “For once I think people should let the Sheriffs deal with it how they want.”
You are clearly missing the BIG picture here… Don’t you see? The sheriffs’ who decided to “deal with it how they want” have either plead guilty to a crime, or were tried and convicted of one… So that idea isn’t likely to work for the long term. In fact it has already failed.
A better plan might be to use laws to enforce the law. And law enforcement in general should do their job and leave the work of a judges, juries or executioners to the judges, juries and executioners.
Johnny Trece says
I’m glad to see that Deputy Sheriffs are being held accountable for their misdeeds.
Tim Scott says
Too bad the “held accountable” is an isolated incident.
Tim Scott says
Good to see the feds make at least a dent in the blue wall of silence. Unfortunately the number of cases where no one cracks is probably ten or a hundred times greater than these few that these deputies were involved in.