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Former L.A. County Sheriff Baca Reports to Prison for Three-Year Sentence

Lee Baca, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, lost his final appeal last month of a 2017 conviction on corruption charges.

The former sheriff of Los Angeles County has reported to prison to begin serving a three-year sentence for obstructing a federal investigation into corruption at county jails, the Associated Press reports. Lee Baca was found guilty in 2017 of sabotaging attempts by the FBI to investigate corruption and abuse in his jails, but after appealing the decision, he was only ordered to begin serving time once his final appeal was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court last month. The former sheriff, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, resigned at the height of the corruption scandal in 2014. He was accused of scheming to hide an inmate who he learned was serving as an FBI informant during an investigation into allegations of bribery and physical abuse at his jail. Data from the federal Bureau of Prisons shows Baca currently being held at the Federal Correctional Institution La Tuna, near El Paso, Texas.