1. Leroy David Baca was born on May 27,1942 and is a former American law enforcement officer and convicted felon who served as the 30th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from 1998 to 2014.
40 Facts About Lee Baca
1. 2.
Lee Baca was elected Los Angeles County's 30th sheriff against his mentor Sherman Block, who had died in office days prior to the election but remained on the ballot.
3.
Lee Baca was criticized for proposing a half-percent sales tax increase in 2004 to hire more deputy sheriffs, placing friends on the payroll, taking of gifts, and for releasing inmates from the Los Angeles County Jail.
4.
On May 12,2017, Lee Baca was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in a scheme to obstruct an FBI investigation of abuses in county jails.
5.
Lee Baca reported to prison and began his sentence on February 5,2020.
6.
On May 27,1942, Lee Baca was born in East Los Angeles, California.
7.
Lee Baca's mother was a seamstress born in Michoacan and then brought to the US when she was a year old.
8.
Lee Baca's parents divorced and Baca grew up with his grandparents Clara and Thomas Baca.
9.
In 1960, Lee Baca graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School, located in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
10.
In high school, Lee Baca was the student senior class president.
11.
In 1971, Lee Baca received a bachelor's degree from California State University, Los Angeles.
12.
In 1974, Lee Baca earned a Master of Public Administration degree from USC.
13.
In 1993, Lee Baca received a Doctorate of Public Administration degree from USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.
14.
In 1964, Lee Baca joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
15.
Lee Baca began his career in street patrol, custody, and recruitment, and was a staff instructor at the Sheriff's Academy.
16.
In 1981, Lee Baca became captain of the Norwalk, California, sheriff station.
17.
On December 7,1998, Lee Baca was sworn in as Los Angeles County Sheriff.
18.
On January 7,2014, Lee Baca resigned facing a tough re-election campaign, amid a prison-abuse scandal that eventually led to his conviction three years later.
19.
Lee Baca opposed the California ban on shark finning and is a Republican who opposed California Proposition 8.
20.
Lee Baca supported Secure Communities, a program by the Department of Homeland Security in which the federal government collaborates with local law enforcement to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
21.
Lee Baca was placed in the Lynwood facility and separated from the general population for her safety.
22.
Around 2 am on June 7,2007, Lee Baca's department released Hilton after serving only 79 hours of her sentence.
23.
Lee Baca was allowed to return home, and her sentence was converted to 40 days of house arrest amid rumors of a medical condition, which later emerged to be psychological.
24.
The situation led the city attorney to file a petition suggesting that Lee Baca should be held in contempt of court for his actions.
25.
Lee Baca later described Hilton's medical condition as a deteriorating, life-threatening condition that left her speaking incoherently.
26.
County Supervisors, Lee Baca stated that the department had called the judge prior to Hilton's release to seek the judge's assistance in obtaining from Hilton's doctors what medications she was taking, so that County Jail doctors could administer the proper medications without dangerous side-effects to calm Hilton who had medical readings of great concern by jail physicians.
27.
Lee Baca stated the judge tersely responded, "She's faking", and the judge abruptly hung up.
28.
Lee Baca is alleged to have taken a cash bribe from Lev Dermen, a suspected member of an Armenian organized crime group.
29.
Lee Baca created two Muslim outreach programs beginning in 2006 designed to create trust within the local Muslim community as well as hire law enforcement officers that other Muslims can identity with.
30.
In early 2012, the ACLU filed suit to prevent Lee Baca from continuing in his position.
31.
On February 10,2016, Lee Baca pled guilty to lying to Federal investigators: "lying twice about his involvement in hiding a jail inmate from FBI investigators".
32.
Lee Baca admitted knowing that his subordinates had threatened an FBI special agent.
33.
Lee Baca was a young Black woman released in the middle of the night without any means of returning home safely, and was found months later deceased not far from Malibu Sheriff station.
34.
On June 20,2016, the US Attorney's office released a court filing by Lee Baca's attorney, claiming he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
35.
Lee Baca was due to report to jail on July 25,2017, to begin carrying out his three-year sentence, but a stay was granted the day prior pending an appeal.
36.
Lee Baca lost his second bid for an appeal on August 23,2017.
37.
Lee Baca was released from custody on January 14,2022.
38.
One son is David Lee Baca, who was a sergeant with the Murrieta Police Department in Murrieta, California and retired in 2018.
39.
Lee Baca is a longtime resident of San Marino, California, and both of his children attended San Marino High School.
40.
Lee Baca was honored by the Southern California Public Affairs Council of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2013 for his inclusive service to the Los Angeles community.