3rd deputy quits amid jail probe

A third Orange County sheriff’s deputy has left the department amid allegations related to a grand jury investigation into the 2006 beating death of an inmate in the county’s largest jail, a department official said Friday.

Deputy Sonja Moreno was placed on administrative leave five months ago after allegedly admitting that she had lied under oath during the grand jury investigation into the beating death of inmate John Derek Chamberlain at Theo Lacy Jail in Orange. Chamberlain, a Mission Viejo resident, was allegedly beaten to death by a throng of inmates.

Moreno, a 19-year veteran, initially testified that she had not discussed any of her testimony with friends or subjects of the investigation, but later recanted and admitted she had discussed her testimony with others, in violation of grand jury policy.