Former LA County sheriff's deputy gets 2 years in prison for violating skateboarder's civil rights
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was sentenced to two years in federal prison for violating the civil rights of a man at a Compton skate park by improperly detaining him and then covering up his actions.
Miguel Vega, 33, of Corona, called himself a monster in court Monday and apologized to the victim, who declined to come to court. He asked the judge to place him in a prison close to his family and two kids.
Vega was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and pay a $5,000 fine due immediately. U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson set a self-surrender date of Feb. 29.
"You violated your solemn oath to uphold the law and in doing so abused the public trust," the judge told Vega in downtown Los Angeles. "What is so galling is that you knew what you did was illegal -- but it simply didn't matter."
Vega pleaded guilty in September 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 admitted to having falsely imprisoned the 23-year-old skateboarder in his patrol car, which crashed during a subsequent chase, leaving the man injured. He also admitted filing false reports to cover up his and his partner's unlawful conduct.
Vega's former partner, Christopher Hernandez, 37, pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy -- part of a plea deal in which he agreed to cooperate in the investigation. A sentencing hearing is set in Los Angeles federal court for Jan. 8, at which time he will face up to five years in federal prison.
"We want to send a strong message that violations of civil rights by any public official, much less a law enforcement officer, need to be harshly addressed," said Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney with the Central District of California.
According to the 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. Vega said he believed one of the males was on probation.
After J.A. yelled at the deputies to stop bothering the youths, Vega got into an argument with him and challenged J.A. to a fight, according to his plea agreement. Vega then pulled J.A. through an opening in the park fence and placed him in the back of the deputies' patrol SUV.
The skateboarder was not handcuffed, was not told he was under arrest and was not restrained by a seatbelt in the back seat of the SUV, Vega admitted.
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.
Vega also 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.
"These deputies essentially wanted to set him up. They wanted to take him to a gang territory and said 'we're going to set you up and we're going to drop you off in this gang territory to make sure that you're in harm's way'," said Christian Contreras, the victim's attorney.
According to prosecutors, Vega crashed the SUV while chasing another man on a bike. Because he was unrestrained in the backseat, J.A. was injured in the crash and sustained a gash above his eye. Vega then told him to leave.
Both deputies filed false reports to cover up their crimes, first saying no one else was in the car at the time of the crash and then saying they detained J.A. for being under the influence of meth.
J.A. sued the sheriff's department and received a $450,000 settlement.
Vega and Hernandez were also involved in the shooting death of Andres Guardado in June 2020. The 18-year-old was shot in the back five times as the deputies chased 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.
City News Service contributed to this report.
