A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy has pleaded guilty to a federal drug charge, admitting he attempted to smuggle over a pound of heroin into a jail facility in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Michael Meiser, 40, of Lancaster, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin. The charge stems from an April 2024 incident in which Meiser, then working as a deputy at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic, coordinated with inmates to bring drugs into the jail in exchange for cash payments—including through the Cash App digital wallet.
Federal prosecutors say Meiser accepted $1,500 sent to a relative by someone connected to an inmate on April 24. Six days later, he drove to a gas station in Valencia and retrieved a plastic grocery bag from a woman linked to the same inmate. Inside the bag were two Pringles cans packed with approximately 511 grams (1.1 pounds) of heroin, along with $15,000 in cash—his alleged payment for the drug delivery…