A second former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has agreed to plead guilty to violating the civil rights of a man at a Compton skate park by improperly detaining him and then acting to cover up his actions, according to court papers filed on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
Miguel Angel Vega, 33, of Corona, admitted that he falsely imprisoned the 23-year-old skateboarder in his patrol car, which crashed during a subsequent chase, leaving the man injured, his plea agreement shows. He also admitted filing false reports to cover up his and his partner’s unlawful conduct. Vega agreed to plead guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, a crime that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison. He is expected to formally plead guilty to the charge in the coming weeks in downtown Los Angeles.
Vega’s former partner, Christopher Blair Hernandez, 37, pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy. A sentencing hearing is set for Jan. 8, at which time he will face up to five years in federal prison.
According to the April indictment, the man identified as J.A. was in an enclosed skate park at Wilson Park in Compton on April 13, 2020, when the deputies arrived and contacted two young Black males outside the park. Prosecutors said Hernandez believed one of the males was on probation. After J.A. yelled at the deputies to stop bothering the youths, Vega allegedly got into an argument with him and challenged J.A. to a fight, prosecutors said. Vega then pulled J.A. through an opening in the park fence and placed him in the back of the deputies’ patrol SUV, according to prosecutors. The skateboarder was not handcuffed, was not told he was under arrest and was not restrained by a seat belt in the back seat of the SUV, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Vega again challenged J.A. to a fight after the deputies had driven away from the park. Vega and Hernandez both “taunted” the man, suggesting they were going to set him up by dropping him off in gang territory, prosecutors said. Vega also allegedly made comments saying the deputies were going to “fabricate and falsely allege that (J.A.) exhibited symptoms of being under the influence of a stimulant as a pretext to justify their false imprisonment” of him, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
As Vega was driving the SUV with J.A. still in the back seat, he began pursuing a group of young males on bicycles, prosecutors said. Hernandez jumped out of the SUV to pursue one suspect on foot, while Vega drove into an alley, where he crashed into a wall and another vehicle, causing J.A. to hit his face and head and sustain a cut over his right eye, according to prosecutors. After the crash, Vega allegedly took J.A. out of the patrol SUV and told him to leave, then reported over the sheriff’s radio that a suspect with a gun had run through an alley, and he described the suspect as wearing clothing similar to those worn by J.A. Neither Vega nor Hernandez initially disclosed that they had detained J.A. or that he was in the SUV when the crash occurred, prosecutors said.
J.A. was subsequently detained by another deputy nearby, and it was only then that Vega admitted to a supervisor that the man had been in the back of the SUV. While J.A. was being treated at a hospital for his injuries, Hernandez allegedly told another deputy to cite him for being under the influence of methamphetamine, despite knowing it was a false accusation, prosecutors said. In reports filed later that day, Hernandez and Vega “intentionally included false, misleading, and ambiguous information in the reports to justify and legitimize, and ultimately cover up, their unlawful conduct,” including that J.A. was under the influence of a stimulant and that he had threatened the deputies and other people at the skate park, prosecutors said.
Vega and Hernandez were also involved in the June 2020 killing of 18- year-old Andrés Guardado, who was shot five times in the back by Vega as the deputies pursued him in Gardena after he allegedly displayed a handgun, according to court records.
The shooting led to widespread protests, and a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Guardado’s family against the county was settled last year for $8 million. No criminal charges were filed in that case.
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Templer says
Having criminals tumble till they reform their ways, it’s the thought that counts. just need more time at a driving school. Those plastic seats are as hard as our water up here lol. Those deputies were street.
Plastic seats no seatbelts says
2011, deputy comes to my house I had in fact committed an act, I had knocked a mirror off another driver’s car. I hid in my garage, my wife engaged the deputy. He asked her questions. As he walked around the house one of my dogs ran up a very friendly dog Pocket Beagle, he drew his weapon my wife was between him and the dog! What really was shocking was as I was only separated by a metal garage door and peering through a peephole, the deputy told a supervising sergeant that he had drew his weapon because the house was empty. This was a complete lie my wife had engaged him for some time prior to pulling his weapon. The supervising Sargent barely stepped onto our premises or had any doubt of what had happened. The investigating deputy was a corporal who specialized in traffic matters. Regardless of his prowess, in my case a partial plate (SLARS monitoring months before the actual crime 25th east and Ave S) crime location was 10th west and L. This so called detective is a fking lying public servant. I was so blown away by his BS I then emerged to take a voluntary ride insisting to ride with that supervisor. The corporal said he had to take me that the Sargent had to remain in the area. I then argued that they didn’t have a choice that I would in no way take a ride with that corporal telling the Sargent I would explain to only him. He relented. Probably just because he likes a good secret. Trust no one trust nothing.
Truth teller says
Tim Scott is 110 percent right. That’s the issue I have is even if there are “good” cops, they know about the bad going on within there police departments and say nothing. Cops don’t rat on cops. So again if a “cop” knows about abuse of power, false imprisonment, false arrest, excessive force, planting drugs, weapons and of course your stolen gun or better yet a gun lighter or pellet gun, it can be a hammer but the cop carries it everywhere in the trunk in his backpack. There should be federal police who go around and check these cops and if they have a pellet gun and it’s not on there itemized list filled out after every bust and before shift and not on paper but through the computer than they go to prison. The best thing that can happen is a pig looses his or her right to carry a firearm if they get a felony which hardly ever happens.
Guilty Plea says
Vega and Hernandez have no business being in law enforcement.
Tim Scott says
And yet in the LA County Sheriff’s Department they fit right in. They got caught here because they happened to wreck the patrol car while they were in the act. How many times do you think they pulled the same stuff without getting caught? How many times do you think they laughed about it during end of shift story time with their fellow deputies? Fellow deputies who would NEVER think of enforcing the law on ‘one of their own.’