Charges Filed Against Ex-Deputies Accused of Planting Guns in Marijuana Dispensary

Two former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were charged Wednesday for allegedly planting guns as evidence inside a medical marijuana dispensary to justify an arrest.

Julio Cesar Martinez and Anthony Manuel Paez each face one felony count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and altering evidence as a peace officer, the district attorney’s office said. Martinez is also charge with two court of perjury and one count of filing a false report.

On Aug. 24, 2011, Martinez and Paez wrote a report claiming they were patrolling West 84th Place in Los Angeles when they witnessed a drug deal, according to prosecutors. The report said one of the subjects was carrying a gun, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors claimed that Martinez said he followed a suspect inside a medical marijuana dispensary where he found one gun in a trash bin and another on top of a desk next to ecstasy pills.


http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Los-Angeles-Sheriffs-Department-District-Attorney-Conspiracy-Charges-Perjury-Medical-Marijuana-Dispensary-256422231.html