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The California Report

Former L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca's Corruption Case Declared Mistrial

Brian Melley
Associated Press
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Former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, center, leaves the federal courthouse on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016. His attorney, Nathan Hochman, is on his left.  (Frank Stoltze/KPCC)

A federal judge has declared a mistrial in the corruption trial of former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca after jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked.

The judge made the decision Thursday as the jury was in its third day of deliberations.

Baca was charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors say he tried to derail a federal investigation into inmate beatings and other abuses in the nation's largest jail system.

The 74-year-old Baca retired in 2014.

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Prosecutors allege he led a plot to thwart the civil rights probe by moving an FBI jail informant to various facilities to prevent the inmate from contacting authorities.

The defense said Baca played no role in the scheme and didn't know his underlings had launched it.

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