2 LA County sheriff's deputies go to federal prison for beating handcuffed inmate

Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were sentenced Monday to more than a year in federal prison for falsifying reports involving a 2009 beating of a handcuffed inmate.

U.S. District Court Judge Beverly Reid O’Coell sentenced Joey Aguiar to 18 months in prison and Mariano Ramirez to 13 months in prison.

A federal jury convicted Aguiar, 29, and Ramirez, 40, in February of writing false reports with the intent to obstruct justice. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on whether the deputies used excessive force against the inmate, Bret Phillips. The jury acquitted the deputies of conspiring to violate Phillips’ civil rights.

After the trial, prosecutors struck a deal with the defendants saying they would not re-try the deputies on the excessive force charge if the deputies agreed not to appeal their sentences.

In handing down the sentences, O’Coell said she believed the deputies did use excessive force against Phillips. The judge also said the deputies violated the public trust invested in them as deputies.

The case is the latest in a series of cases brought by federal prosecutors as a result of a wide-ranging FBI probe into corruption and excessive use of force by deputies in the county’s downtown jails.

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During the sentencing hearing, O’Coell mentioned the plea agreement with former Sheriff Lee Baca in which federal prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence Baca to no more than six months in prison in exchange for his guilty plea to one count of lying to federal investigators. She said she found the disparity between the sentence prosecutors were seeking for the two deputies and the deal that Baca has received as “troubling.” Baca has not been sentenced and a judge could reject the deal.

Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence the deputies to 21 to 27 months in prison, within federal sentencing guidelines. Aguiar and Ramirez’s attoeys asked that the men be sentenced to probation.

When questioned by O’Coell about the difference in sentencing recommendations, Assistant U.S. Attoey Jeifer Williams said the cases were “apples and oranges.” She noted that Baca had tued himself in, admitted guilt and had not been accused of using excessive force himself.

“He accepted responsibility,” Williams said, noting Baca’s agreement was “very favorable.” Aguiar, Williams said, had not shown remorse.

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Aguiar’s attoey, Evan Jeess, who addressed the disparity in sentencing in court filings, accused prosecutors of playing politics.

The convictions of Aguiar and Ramirez stem from a Feb. 11, 2009 incident, where prosecutors said the deputies punched and kicked Phillips, sprayed him with pepper spray and hit him with a flashlight and then lied about the incident in reports.

Phillips’ hands were shackled to a waist-chain during the beating at Men’s Central Jail. The deputies’ lawyers insisted the force used was necessary.

In sentencing Aguiar, O’Coell noted the deputy’s relative youth at the time of the beating. He was 21 years old and had been a deputy for about a year. Aguiar addressed the court asking for leniency.

Ramirez’s attoey, Vicki Podberesky, said that Ramirez has two young children, has volunteered in the community and he “did not have a lot of privileges” growing up. He was still on probation as a deputy sheriff at the time of the beating.

“I hope that you show me leniency and allow me to be with my two sons,” Ramirez tearfully told the judge. “They’re my heart and soul...They need me and I need them.”

O’Coell acknowledged that Ramirez had a “significantly difficult upbringing” in Los Angeles and said his situation was different from Aguiar’s.

The deputies must tu themselves in by Aug. 1. Both deputies will be on supervised release for three years after their time is served and must perform 100 hours of community service.

The deputies have been on unpaid leave from the sheriff’s department since they were charged in 2014.

Podberesky said with the felony conviction, she expects her client will be fired from the department.