A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy charged earlier this year in a traffic ticket-fixing case pleaded no contest Wednesday to conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Edwin Allan Tamayo — who was assigned to the sheriff’s Lost Hills station before he resigned Aug. 19 — managed to fix tickets by removing them before they were filed in court and took court notices from a colleague’s office mailbox without that deputy’s knowledge, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Tamayo was compensated on at least two occasions by friends or acquaintances for his actions and that he was paid at least $1,000 by a driver in one instance to get rid of three tickets in 2012, according to the prosecution.
Tamayo was put on paid leave in February 2013 when the sheriff’s department launched an internal investigation. He was arrested June 3 in San Diego, released on a $25,000 bond and charged two days later.
Tamayo is due back in Los Angeles Superior Court on Oct. 8 for sentencing.
Tamayo filed a lawsuit that is still pending against Los Angeles County, in which he alleges that he was ordered by his unit commander to pick up sealed envelopes containing donations for then-Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, which he considered illegal. Tamayo told the Los Angeles Times that he had worn a wire for the FBI in that matter.
— City News Service