A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy is among the 18 people indicted by a grand jury this week in a “sophisticated” drug smuggling operation within the County jail system.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the unsealing of the grand jury indictment Tuesday evening, adding that it targets a network of criminals who collaborated with associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang.
Half of those indicted are currently in jail, while the other half were free citizens, Hochman said, including LASD Deputy Michael Meiser.
Meiser was arrested for his alleged role last May, according to the Los Angeles Times. He worked at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic as an investigator with the jail’s anti-gang unit.
The yearslong investigation was launched in February 2022 after multiple reports of narcotics entering the jail system, as well as a violent inmate assault that took place around that time.
The indicted individuals are:
- Angel Grajales, 33, of Arleta
- Arianna Inocente, 22, of Norwalk
- Daniel Arochi Gonzalez, 24, of Carson
- Frank Rodriquez, 31, of Los Angeles
- Jesse Quintero, 44, of Hacienda Heights
- Jose Trancito Martinez, 36, of Long Beach
- Marco Lujan, 47, of Pomona
- Michael Meiser, 39, of Lancaster
- Salma Haro, 24, of Long Beach
- Andy Dominquez, 30, inmate
- Ariel Pereyra, 28, inmate
- Daniel Garcia, 38, inmate
- David Fraysure, 27, inmate
- Jackie Triplett, 40, inmate
- Jessie Abdon, 24, inmate
- Jose Rodriguez, 47, inmate
- Pharoah Brooks, 47, inmate
The case was investigated by the Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau and the FBI’s San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Task Force.
“Corruption and criminal activity will not be tolerated in our justice system — especially within our jails,” Hochman said in a news release. “Cleaning up our jail system is critical to breaking the cycle of crime that spills over into our communities. We will continue to root out corruption and ensure that those responsible for endangering public safety are held accountable.”
A hearing in the case is scheduled to take place March 27 in downtown Los Angeles.
