A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy to 18 months in prison for conspiring to violate the civil rights of a 23-year-old skateboarder.
Christopher Hernandez is the second former sheriff’s deputy sentenced to prison in connection with the case of Jesus Alegria, who accused the two deputies of kidnapping and abusing him after he yelled at them to stop picking on teens in a Compton park. The deputies forced Alegria into the back of their cruiser minutes before crashing the vehicle while chasing another man, prosecutors said, then fabricated a drug arrest to cover it all up.
In December, Hernandez’s former partner — ex-deputy Miguel Vega — was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. As a result of their criminal convictions, last month the state Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training deemed both deputies ineligible to work as police officers or deputies in California.