Gunning Up: L.A. County’s Top Cop Versus the Feds

When Lee Baca took over the LA County Sheriff’s Department in 1998, he inherited a scandal-plagued agency. He built a reputation as a progressive reformer, and his jail-education programs were celebrated. But the feds notice that investigations into his agency always seem to evaporate when he gets involved. By 2011, he is 70 years old and has run the department for 13 years. Furious about the FBI’s probe into his jails, Baca has Leah Marx surveilled. Two of his sergeants appear at her apartment and threaten her with arrest. Allegations emerge about the beating of a jail visitor name Gabriel Carrillo. The feds have expanded their probe beyond civil rights violations. Can they make a case for obstruction of justice? How high does the misconduct go? Baca’s clash with the FBI revealed how deeply the department was in turmoil. Allegations of intimidation and the beating of visitor Gabriel Carrillo turned a civil rights probe into one of Los Angeles’ most significant corruption cases. Host Chris Goffard, from the Los Angeles Times and creator of Dirty John, traces how the investigation escalated to obstruction of justice. Topics in this episode include: Sheriff Lee Baca, Los Angeles County Jail scandal, Gabriel Carrillo beating, FBI investigation, police corruption.

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Gunning Up: L.A. County’s Top Cop Versus the Feds is an episode from Dirty John by L.A. Times Studios.

This episode is 00:26:20 long.

This episode was published on Sep 23, 2025.

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