Ex-Orange County Prosecutor Pleads Guilty in Drug Case

Former Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryan Ray Kazarian has pleaded guilty to a federal drug-trafficking conspiracy charge, according to court documents unsealed Monday that shed some light on a drug case long shrouded in secrecy.

Eight of Kazarian’s co-defendants also have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from their roles in an elaborate drug-smuggling ring that produced and distributed methamphetamine and cocaine.

Prosecutors allege that ring members smuggled methamphetamine in shipments of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and laundered money from the $580,000-a-week operation.

The documents’ release comes two months before the scheduled start of the trial against the six remaining defendants, including the alleged ringleader, John David Ward. Also facing charges is the founder of the local chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, Howard Irvine Coones.

The plea bargains with federal prosecutors were reached late last year in closed-door proceedings and were sealed immediately. Though the records released Monday do not list the sentences Kazarian and his co-defendants received, they provide the first details about the case since the ring was broken up last year.

In June, Kazarian and most of the others were arrested and charged with participating in the ring.

Kazarian was accused of being a key player who allegedly passed along sensitive information about the investigation to ringleaders. A former gang prosecutor, Kazarian’s whereabouts have not been disclosed since he was taken into federal custody.

If convicted, some of the defendants could face sentences of up to life in prison.