A deputy probation officer has been charged with conspiring to bring Xanax into a juvenile hall in Sylmar about two years ago, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Michael Angelo Solis, 59, is charged with one felony count each of bringing a controlled substance into a juvenile hall, conspiracy to bring a controlled substance into a juvenile hall, possession for sale of alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) and conspiracy to possess alprazolam for sale, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Solis — who was assigned to the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar — allegedly conspired with a detained youth to sell alprazolam pills for hundreds of dollars between May 2023 and August 2023, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He could face up to three years in state prison if convicted as charged, the D.A.’s Office said.
“Trafficking illegal drugs to juveniles is unconscionable under any circumstances, let alone as a government employee taking advantage of vulnerable youth in need of guidance and support,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement announcing the criminal charges. “Probation officers have as their primary duty the protection, health and safety of juveniles under their care. My office will not tolerate such an abuse of power, which endangers youth, undermines rehabilitation and makes our communities less safe.”
In a statement released shortly after the charges were announced, the Los Angeles County Probation Department said Solis “has been on ordered absence through the duration of the investigation.”
The department said it has worked closely with the District Attorney’s Office on the investigation as soon as the allegations surfaced.
“There is no room in this department for anyone who violates the public trust and endangers the safety and well-being of the youth in our care,” Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said in the statement issued by the department. “We applaud the action taken by District Attorney Nathan Hochman and remain steadfast in our commitment to holding our staff to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and accountability.”