LOS ANGELES – A retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s lieutenant pleaded not guilty Friday to obstruction of justice of charges for allegedly paying for sex at a pair of West Hollywood massage parlors and tipping off an employee about a possible upcoming law enforcement raid.
David Smith, 59, is charged with one felony count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and one misdemeanor count of obstruction of justice. He is due back in court July 23.
Prosecutors contend Smith would claim to be conducting lawful inspections at West Hollywood massage parlors, then paid for sex at two of them between 2016 and 2017. He is also alleged to have received “gifts” from a massage parlor employee, and in exchange, he would check for possible planned raids of the business. Prosecutors said that on one occasion, he warned the woman that law enforcement might be near her business and advised her to close for the evening.
If convicted as charged, Smith faces a possible maximum sentence of three years behind bars.
Smith had been with the department for 30 years. According to the sheriff’s department, he “separated from the department” Sept. 30, 2017.
“When the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau became aware of the allegations, a comprehensive undercover operation was initiated,” according to the sheriff’s department. “During the operation, ICIB investigators obtained information indicating a crime occurred.”
Investigators presented their findings to the District Attorney’s Office for consideration of criminal charges in December, according to the sheriff’s department.
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Tommy Samuel Wilford says
Everybody has secrets. Don’t they Timothy
Don’t worry I won’t share. Much. Ha!
Alexis says
At least David Smith paid for sex. Too many cops use the badge to commit sex crimes.
David Davis says
I don’t believe he paid for sex. He’s a lieutenant, he knows the consequences of making those mistakes. He would never help criminals for some meager sex that he didn’t need. Normal people go on dates and have sex which means he wasn’t in need of sex. His retirement check is bigger than the income of that message businesses, so he wasn’t in need of meager gift’s. I suspect he was framed and the evidence is weak. Most likely organized criminals are wiretapping the homes of law enforcement and they get the bulk of their information like that.
Theresa says
… a hearsay based accusation, conspiracy to obstruct is impossible to prove. Waste of the taxpayers money, the charge will never stick. LASD knows it. The DA knows it. And, everyone knows, any garden variety public defender can easily beat a conspiracy to obstruct charge.
Tim Scott says
According to the article the charge is based on information obtained during an undercover operation. That isn’t hearsay, and the witnesses aren’t the “no credibility criminals” some other idiot was talking about. If they have the guy on tape passing information through a wired participant in the investigation he’s screwed.
Alexis says
I believe he is being used as a scapegoat to deflect from much darker issues within law enforcement. Come on, in law enforcement for 30 years, and now they’re trying to bring him down because of massage parlor issues! There are cops out there breaking the law every day. Laws citizens are arrested and charged for on a daily basis. We’re talking murder, sexual assaults, fraudulent charges, and so much more. comprehensive undercover operation for this! They’re covering up there own dirty deeds by throwing him under the bus.
Tim Scott says
My own wild guess is that the full investigation was done back before he retired and wound up on Baca or Tanaka’s desk and got buried. Now the new regime is confronted by an open and shut case that they have to either follow suit and bury or take to court, and they are doing the best they can with that turd sandwich. Probably not the only helping Baca and Tanaka left on their plates either.
Whether they are or aren’t investigating new cases I cannot guess, though my instinct is to be very doubtful.
David Davis says
That deputy is being framed by criminals with little credibility. Criminals lie and fabricate evidence just because they want reduced charges. If it were true those criminals would never bring aligations against their goose that lays golden eggs. It’s odd that someone would sleep with those women twice and not more. It doesn’t sound real.
Tim Scott says
I take it that having no credibility is a subject you are familiar with through personal experience.
Dauntless says
As, do, many (criminal) deputies! They too, lie and fabricate evidence. J/S.
Ernie says
They will hound this retired cop for a long time but they will not do anything about the mayor of Oakland doing the same thing for illegal aliens.
Tim Scott says
There is a new term on the internet; ‘barfing. ‘barf is a contraction of Breitbarf, the common use name for Breitbart; Trump’s primary propaganda outlet on the internet. It’s a form of trolling where people vomit nonsense they learned from Breitbart, Fox News, and other echo chamber idiot sources onto sites where people know better.
Thanks for the demonstration Ernie.