A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s employee accused of taking and tampering with a blood sample from his own DUI arrest pleaded no contest Thursday to a pair of charges.
Tommy Ray Trimble pleaded no contest to a felony count of preparing false evidence and a misdemeanor count of destroying evidence, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He was immediately sentenced to two years of probation, along with two days in county jail and 30 days of community labor. He was also ordered to attend a six-month alcohol-treatment program and pay $300 in restitution.
Trimble — who worked as an evidence and property custodian at the sheriff’s crime laboratory in Downey — was arrested July 7, 2024, on the 91 Freeway in Compton and subsequently charged with driving under the influence in connection with an investigation in which his blood was drawn, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
A sheriff’s criminalist at the Downey lab examined Trimble’s blood sample in September 2024 and noticed that it had been damaged, according to the District Attorney’s Office, which said Trimble accessed a vault where evidence was stored, removed his blood sample and heated it in a microwave.
In a statement announcing the charges, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said, “Those who perform civic service should expect to be held to a higher standard. This wasn’t a mistake. This was a concerted effort to flout the law to escape justice.”