Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested in Purchase of Cocaine
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who had been under surveillance for about a month was arrested after trying to buy a kilogram of cocaine from an undercover officer on a Downtown street, authorities said Thursday.
William Barr, 25, a 4 1/2-year veteran of the department, was arrested about 2:15 p.m. Wednesday near Alameda and Macy streets, said Deputy Larry Mead, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman. Detectives later found two 9-millimeter semiautomatic handguns in Barr’s car, Mead said.
At the time of his arrest, Barr worked as a jail deputy at the North County Correctional Facility, one of five jail facilities that house more than 10,000 inmates at the sprawling Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho in Castaic, Mead said.
The internal unit had learned through an anonymous tip that Barr had inquired about a possible cocaine purchase, Mead said.
Barr was booked on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sale and was being held on $100,000 bail, Mead said.
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