Wife of Ex-DEA Agent Pleads Guilty on Tax Count

The wife of a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Barbara Jackson, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Los Angeles to failure to file her 1987 income tax return as part of a plea-bargain agreement linked to the agency’s corruption scandal.

Jackson, 42, of Claremont is the wife of former DEA agent John Jackson, 41, who pleaded guilty last month to trafficking in drugs stolen from the agency’s evidence vault in Los Angeles.

Barbara Jackson, who faced eight counts in a federal grand jury indictment, entered the plea to a misdemeanor charge of failing to report approximately $28,000 in income for 1987. The maximum penalty is a $25,000 fine and one year in jail.

A second DEA agent, Wayne Countryman, 47, of Walnut has pleaded guilty to narcotics conspiracy and tax evasion charges. A third agent, Darnell Garcia, 43, of Rancho Palos Verdes, who faces drug trafficking charges, is preparing for an Oct. 9 jury trial.