Deputy illegally detains skateboarder to teach him lesson, crashes patrol SUV, feds say

A 23-year-old skateboarder found himself illegally detained — and later hospitalized — after telling deputies to leave two young Black men alone near a skate park in Compton, California, according to federal prosecutors.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies Miguel Angel Vega and Christopher Blair Hernandez approached the two individuals April 13, 2020, and searched them for guns after Vega suspected one was in a street gang, according to prosecutors.

After the skateboarder, identified as “J.A.” yelled at Vega and Hernandez to back off from the pair, Vega challenged J.A. to a fight, court documents say.

Then Vega decided to teach J.A. a lesson while fueled by anger, according to his plea agreement.

Vega grabbed J.A. and threw him in the back of his patrol SUV as Hernandez stood by, according to prosecutors, who said J.A. was never handcuffed, strapped in a seat belt or read his rights.

Vega and Hernandez then concocted a story to justify detaining J.A. and accused him of being under the influence of a stimulant, the plea agreement says.

Prosecutors say Vega then crashed the patrol SUV — leading to J.A. hitting his head in the back of the vehicle and needing stitches — and caused a major response from the sheriff’s department.

Vega, who no longer works for the sheriff’s department, has agreed to plead guilty to depriving J.A. of his civil rights, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a Sept. 5 news release.

On July 24, Hernandez pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate J.A.’s civil rights, prosecutors said in an earlier news release. He is no longer employed by the sheriff’s department.

McClatchy News contacted attorneys representing Vega and Hernandez for comment Sept. 6 and didn’t receive immediate responses.

The sheriff’s department assisted federal agencies in their criminal investigation of Vega and Hernandez, the department told McClatchy News in a Sept. 6 statement.

“When the sheriff’s department became aware of allegations of misconduct against Miguel Vega and Christopher Hernandez, criminal and administrative investigations were initiated,” the department said in an email. “As a result of the internal investigation, both employees are no longer members of the department.”

The SUV crash

Vega and Hernandez are accused of taunting and threatening J.A., saying they’d drop him off in gang territory “where (he’d) receive a beating,” prosecutors said in the release.

During the drive, Vega spotted a group of young men riding bikes and suspected one had a gun — so he pursued him with the SUV, according to prosecutors.

As the pursuit unfolded, Vega let Hernandez out the vehicle, prosecutors said.

Then, Vega crashed the SUV into an alleyway wall and a parked car, with J.A. still unsecured in the back, the plea agreement says.

J.A. was left with a cut above his right eye, according to prosecutors and the plea agreement.

Afterward, Vega told J.A. to “get out of here” and let him out of the patrol car, according to the plea agreement.

J.A. told Vega he was hurt, but Vega again told him to leave because he was “concerned that J.A. was lingering for too long,” the plea agreement says.

Vega reports person with a gun

Following the crash, Vega reported a person with a gun was on the run over the sheriff’s department radio — causing personnel to arrive and establish a containment zone in the area, prosecutors said.

Vega also reported crashing his SUV but failed to mention J.A. was detained in the backseat, according to prosecutors.

Another deputy who arrived at the scene encountered J.A. nearby and — while incorrectly suspecting J.A. was the person with the gun — detained him, the plea agreement says.

Afterward, Vega heard a potential suspect was apprehended and to his surprise, he saw it was J.A., according to the plea agreement.

At that point, Vega admitted J.A. was in the back of his patrol car during the crash and told the deputies to release him, the plea agreement says.

However, due to J.A.’s head injuries, the deputies didn’t let him go, according to the plea agreement.

J.A. is cited at the hospital

While at the hospital receiving stitches for the cut above his eye, J.A. was issued a citation for methamphetamine use at Hernandez’s direction, the plea agreement says.

This was “consistent with (Vega’s) plan to fabricate the allegation that J.A. was under the influence…and to cover up (Vega and Hernandez’s) unlawful detention of J.A. at the skatepark,” according to the plea agreement.

Vega and Hernandez both lied in two incident reports they wrote that day to cover up what happened, prosecutors said.

They reported they detained J.A. because he appeared to have taken a stimulant and was purportedly sweating, talking fast, displaying erratic behavior, grinding his teeth, had dilated pupils and more, the plea agreement says.

The deputies also wrote J.A. threatened them and others at the skate park, according to prosecutors.

Vega will face up to 10 years in federal prison after formally pleading guilty, prosecutors said. His sentencing date wasn’t listed in court records.

Hernandez is facing up to five years in prison following his guilty plea and will be sentenced Jan. 8, prosecutors said.

Two months after officials said J.A. was wrongfully detained, Vega and Hernandez were accused of killing Andres Guardado, 18, resulting in major protests and a wrongful death lawsuit, CBS Los Angeles reported, citing court records.

After Vega and Hernandez said they saw Guardado with a gun, they pursued him before Vega repeatedly shot him in the back, according to court records obtained by the outlet, which reported no criminal charges came out of the shooting.

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