Former sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 7 years in prison for leading fake drug raid

A former sheriff’s deputy in Los Angeles County has been sentenced to seven years in prison for leading a fake drug raid back in 2018 to steal drugs.

Marc Antrim, 43, set up the fake operation to steal half a ton of marijuana and $600,000 (around P29 million) in cash, as per Los Angeles Times yesterday, April 12. Antrim was assigned to the Temple City sheriff’s station then.

Antrim received his sentence also yesterday but had already pleaded guilty to multiple crimes back in 2019, including deprivation of rights under color of law and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, the US attorney’s office said as cited by the report.

Antrim pulled the fake drug raid off with Kevin McBride, 45, and Matthew James Perez, 44, early one morning in October 2018 by raiding a legal marijuana business. He reportedly presented his badge and a fake search warrant to enter the establishment while the other two wore deputy uniforms.

The three detained two security guards in the back of the sheriff’s SUV, according to the report. Another accomplice, named Daniel Aguilera, operated the truck that they loaded with marijuana.

During the fake drug raid, actual Los Angeles Police Department officers showed up as they were patrolling the area. Antrim was able to send them away, however, after claiming he had a search warrant. He even made one of the cops talk to his “supervisor” through the phone.

The attorney for the business then contacted the Sheriff’s department a few days after the heist, presenting security footage of the fake operation.

Authorities were able to track the truck’s GPS device, which led them to McBride’s house in Glendora, where they found two pounds of marijuana, a loaded handgun registered to Antrim, ammunition issued to law enforcement officers and a flashlight with Antrim’s name on it.

They also found $150,000 to $200,000 in cash in the said residence. Similar to the amounts of cash and four rented firearms were, meanwhile, found in Antrim’s rented home.

“The seriousness of the crime could not be overstated,” US District Judge Virginia A. Phillips was quoted as saying during a court hearing at which she handed down the sentence, the report said.

The judge also noted that such a crime committed by a sheriff’s deputy has eroded the public’s trust in law enforcement.

Besides Antrim, his accomplices have also received sentencing: McBride is serving a six-year federal prison sentence, while Perez, Aguilera and another culprit named Eric Rodriguez, 35, are also serving time in federal prison.

Christopher Myung Kim, who was a former warehouse employee, has, meanwhile, been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for his role in the heist, during which he made off with $1.5 million (around P72.8 million) in stolen marijuana. Ian Biong /ra

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