The former San Bernardino County District Attorney has been suspended by the State Bar of California for destroying evidence.
Mike Ramos, who served as DA from 2002 to 2018, deleted text messages and emails related to a bribery case that was dismissed in 2017, the Press-Enterprise reports.
The targets of that bribery case sued the county in 2018, and they sought access to those texts and emails.
“Ramos, however, could not produce those records because they had been deleted,” the Press-Enterprise reports.
Ramos claimed he was ignorant of records-keeping laws, but the State Bar found that argument “not persuasive,” as Ramos “is a sophisticated party who had the assistance of experienced counsel.”
As a result, he was suspended from practicing law for six months and must pay nearly $4,000 in fees and sanctions. Ramos didn’t return the paper’s request for comment.
It’s likely that the suspension won’t impact Ramos too much, as he reportedly now works for UC Riverside in communications and writes crime novels.
It’s a far cry from when he was running for California attorney general and received the support of then-AG and future Vice President Kamala Harris in his bid for reelection as DA, despite Harris being a Democrat and Ramos being a Republican.
