Not-Guilty Pleas Entered in O.C. Corruption Case

Former Orange County Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo and his sister-in-law pleaded not guilty in a corruption case Tuesday after failing to get the charges against them dropped or amended.

Jaramillo and Erica Hill had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges and then withdrew their pleas to argue that they were wrongly charged as public officials, that the statute of limitations had lapsed on some charges, and that Jaramillo did not have a conflict of interest as a consultant for an Orange County company seeking business with law enforcement agencies.

After Tuesday’s hourlong hearing, Superior Court Judge Daniel McNerney in Santa Ana rejected the arguments, clearing the way for an April 18 preliminary hearing to determine whether there was enough evidence to bring them to trial.

Attorneys for Jaramillo and Hill said they were disappointed.

“I look forward to cross-examining all the prosecution’s witnesses,” said Joseph G. Cavallo, who is representing Jaramillo.

“I believe we’ll be able to show there is no probable cause to hold Mr. Jaramillo over for trial.”

Jaramillo and Hill are accused of misusing sheriff’s squad cars and on-duty deputies to stage demonstrations for CHG Safety Technologies, which invented an electronic device to disable a vehicle pursued by police.

Jaramillo was a paid consultant to CHG part of the time he was the No. 2 man in the Sheriff’s Department.

Hill was the company’s office manager.

Jaramillo, fired in March by Sheriff Michael S. Carona, could get up to nine years in prison if convicted on six felony counts of misappropriation of public funds and four misdemeanor conflict-of-interest charges.

Hill, who no longer works for CHG, could get up to six years if convicted on three counts of misappropriation of public funds for allegedly helping Jaramillo.