header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
March 19
1875, 1:35PM - Outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez hanged in San Jose [story]
Tiburcio Vasquez


By Martin Macias Jr.

LOS ANGELES – A Justice Department attorney said in opening statements of a federal grand jury trial Tuesday that a former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy intentionally covered for his fellow officers when he lied to federal investigators about a 2011 beating in LA’s central jail.

Byron Dredd was assigned to the visiting area of the LA’s Men’s Central Jail and was on duty when LA resident Gabriel Carrillo entered the facility on Feb. 26, 2011 to visit his brother who was detained there.

After he was handcuffed for violating the jail’s cell phone policy, Carrillo was slammed face-down on the ground of a deputy break room and beaten badly by a group of officers. Paramedics transported Carrillo to the hospital where he was treated for cuts, bruises and chemical burns from officers’ pepper-spray.

The incident was the subject of a high-profile investigation and federal lawsuit that resulted in a $1.2 million settlement in 2014. The deputies involved in the beating and the orchestrated cover-up of the incident were sentenced to time in federal prison.

Dredd, who wrote in his incident report that he saw brief moments of the beating through a small, grated window in the break room, was the sixth deputy indicted by a federal grand jury.

An October 2015 three-count indictment said Dredd, a deputy from May 2009 until he was discharged in June 2013, lied to FBI agents when he was interviewed about his report, which corroborated the story that deputies put forth.

A jury acquitted Dredd in 2016 of charges that he falsified reports as part of the cover up but was split on whether he was guilty of lying to federal investigators.

Dredd’s effort to dismiss the remaining charge was denied by U.S. District Judge George King. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit later affirmed King’s ruling and cleared the way for this week’s trial before U.S District Judge Dale Fischer.

Defense attorney Nina Marino of Kaplan Marino said in her opening statement that at the time of the beating, Dredd was an inexperienced deputy who based his report, which he had little time to write, on the viewpoints of his fellow officers.

“His report was wrong,” Marino said, adding that Dredd was unaware that deputies were developing a cover-up.

Dredd, Marino added, was largely distracted during the beating anyway since he was in a separate part of the jail visiting area, focused on his duties.

“The government says [Dredd] lied,” Marino said. “We say that he made a mistake. A mistake is not a lie.”

But Justice Department attorney Agustin Dorian Orozco said Dredd joined in on the deputies’ collective effort to concoct a cover-up of the beating.

“The defendant intentionally covered up the actions of his partners and he lied about what happened to the FBI,” Orozco said.

Dredd lied in his report when he said Carrillo, while being beaten, swung his arm in attempt to punch a deputy and eventually escape from the room, the indictment said.

“[Carrillo] never tried to escape,” Orozco said.

On the witness stand Tuesday, Carrillo, wearing a baggy white shirt with slicked back hair, said that an otherwise routine visit to see his brother turned violent after he and his girlfriend were pulled into the break room.

Officers were upset that the couple had cell phones in the lobby of the visiting area, which the jail prohibits. In the break room, Carrillo said deputies handcuffed him and pushed him face-first into a refrigerator. One deputy stayed behind to ask the couple about the cell phones.

“If I wasn’t in handcuffs, things would be different,” Carrillo said he told his girlfriend, adding that he also asked her not to respond to questioning.

Carrillo told Justice Department attorney Veronica Dragalin that the deputy, who took his words as a threat, called for support.

“The deputy said, ‘Homeboy said that if he wasn’t in handcuffs he would take flight on us,’” Carrillo said, adding that the expression means he would fight the deputies if he weren’t in handcuffs.

The break room filled with officers who threw Carrillo face-first into the ground and began pummeling him while his hands were handcuffed behind him. He was also pepper-sprayed while on the floor.

As a result of the federal investigation into the beating, 15 members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were convicted for federal civil rights offenses.

The deputies involved in the Carrillo beating – Pantamitr Zunggeemoge, Fernando Luviano, Sussie Ayala, Noel Womack and Eric Gonzalez – were later sentenced to federal prison.

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

No Comments

    Leave a Comment


    SCV NewsBreak
    LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
    Monday, Mar 18, 2024
    Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival Live Music Performers Announced
    The 28th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival is back with your favorite musical performers and an exciting lineup of new acts.
    Monday, Mar 18, 2024
    City’s 2024 ‘Celebrate’ Lineup Released
    There is so much to learn from different customs and cultures and you don’t need a plane ticket to experience it all.
    Monday, Mar 18, 2024
    March 22: COC’s Uniquely Abled Academy Robotics Graduation
    On Friday, March 22, the Uniquely Abled Academy (UAA) at College of the Canyons will host a graduation ceremony for nine students who have completed the UAA’s pilot robotics training program.
    Keep Up With Our Facebook

    Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
    1875, 1:35PM - Outlaw Tiburcio Vasquez hanged in San Jose [story]
    Tiburcio Vasquez
    College of the Canyons notched its first victory at the newly named Mike Gillespie Field on Saturday, winning its second straight conference series, this time over visiting Bakersfield College, by a 6-4 final score. 
    Cougars Notch First Win at Mike Gillespie Field
    MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The Master's University hit 20 3-pointers, one shy of the program record in a game, to defeat the St. Thomas Bobcats 122-91 in the second round of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men's Basketball National Championship tournament.
    Mustangs Advance to NAIA Sweet 16
    The Master's University baseball team lost a pair of 1-run games Saturday against the Menlo Oaks in Atherton, Calif.
    Mustangs Drop Three Games to Menlo
    The Los Angeles County Development Authority is excited to announce that its executive director, Emilio Salas, has been appointed to a two-year term to serve as a member of the national Strategic Planning Advisory Committee for the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).
    LACDA’s Emilio Salas Appointed to National Planning Advisory Committee
    The 28th Annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival is back with your favorite musical performers and an exciting lineup of new acts.
    Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival Live Music Performers Announced
    REDLANDS — College of the Canyons track and field recorded a dozen top-10 finishes and established 30 new personal records while competing at the University of Redlands Invitational on March 15. 
    Cougars Earn Top-10 Finishes at Redlands Invitational
    There is so much to learn from different customs and cultures and you don’t need a plane ticket to experience it all.
    City’s 2024 ‘Celebrate’ Lineup Released
    Big Chicken, the star-powered fast casual chicken concept, which has a location in Santa Clarita, is fueling the mania for the Big Tournament with a nationwide Big Bracket Challenge.
    Compete for Chance to Open Shaquille O’Neal Chicken Restaurant
    California State University, Northridge’s Spring 2024 Cinematheque series will pay tribute to Hollywood casting director and producer Deborah Aquila, executive vice president and head of casting at Paramount Television Studios and CBS Studios, to mark the end of Women’s History Month on Wednesday, March 27.
    Legendary Casting Director Deborah Aquila to Speak at CSUN
    On Friday, March 22, the Uniquely Abled Academy (UAA) at College of the Canyons will host a graduation ceremony for nine students who have completed the UAA’s pilot robotics training program.
    March 22: COC’s Uniquely Abled Academy Robotics Graduation
    The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is excited to announce spring has sprung at its local parks, including those in the Santa Clarita Valley.
    L.A. County Parks Releases Spring Jubilee Dates
    The city of Santa Clarita’s Film Office released the list of six productions currently filming in the Santa Clarita Valley for the week of Monday, March 18 - Sunday, March 24.
    ‘Bosch Legacy,’ ‘CSI Vegas’ Among Six Productions Filming in SCV
    Unlike our children who enjoy a week-long spring break, we adults no longer have that luxury.
    Ken Striplin | Register Now for Spring Break Camp 2024
    The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the following Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in ocean waters due to bacterial levels exceeding health standards when last tested.
    Ocean Water Advisory Continues for L.A. County Beaches
    The California Department of Motor Vehicles now offers a faster way for businesses to check that their employees have clean driving records using the new online Employee Pull Notice (EPN) Service.
    DMV Launches Enhanced Digital Employer Pull Notice Service
    1919 - Fire destroys abandoned second Southern Hotel, built 1878 in Newhall (corner Main & Market) [story]
    Second Southern Hotel
    1927 - Newhall telephone exchange, est. 1900, now serves 100 phones [story]
    telephone
    2003 - Lifesize sculpture honoring heroes of St. Francis Dam disaster unveiled in Santa Paula [video]
    The Warning
    In the first of three matches on consecutive nights in Arizona, The Master's men's volleyball team defeated Benedictine-Mesa in three sets 27-25, 28-26, 25-19.
    TMU Men’s Volleyball Sweeps Benu in Arizona
    Greg Herrick, the former longtime College of the Canyons women's basketball head coach who recorded 611 career wins while winning 16 conference titles, was inducted into the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCWBCA) Hall of Fame during the organization's annual Banquet of Champions at Mt. San Antonio College on March 13.
    Longtime COC Women’s Basketball Coach Herrick Enshrined in Hall of Fame
    The Santa Clarita Planning Commission will hold its regular meeting Tuesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd. 1st Floor, Santa Clarita, CA 91355.
    March 19: Planning Commission to Discuss Wiley Canyon Mixed Use Project
    Attend the city of Santa Clarita's most unique egg hunt, the Splash N’ Dash at the Santa Clarita Aquatics Center, presented by Kaiser Permanente.
    March 30: Dive into Spring at Splash n’ Dash Egg Hunt
    String orchestras and concert bands from around the Santa Clarita Valley and Southern California will participate in the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association concert festival hosted by West Ranch High School on Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27, 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
    March 26-27: SoCal School Band, Orchestra Concert Festival
    SCVNews.com