Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who was convicted of overseeing a scheme designed to obstruct a federal investigation into corruption and civil rights abuses at county jail facilities, was ordered to serve his prison sentence, officials said Thursday.

Baca was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison in 2017 but faced numerous appeals, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.  

The United States Supreme Court denied hearing Baca’s appeal on Monday, upholding the lower court conviction of the former Sheriff, according to court documents. 

Baca is ordered to serve on or before Feb. 5, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Judge Anderson, who presided over a series of trials that led to the conviction of 10 former members of the Sheriff’s Department involved in the scheme to obstruct justice, said Baca “knew what he was doing was wrong, and he had no problem using his office to further his own agenda.”

“Blind obedience to a corrupt culture has serious consequences,” Anderson said.

A federal jury convicted Baca on three felony counts: conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and making false statements to federal investigators.

See Related: Former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca Denied Supreme Court Appeal

The evidence presented at trial showed that Baca was the top figure in the conspiracy, which also involved his right-hand man and deputies who implemented orders from the Sheriff, according to prosecutors. 

“As Sheriff, Mr. Baca should have held himself accountable. He should have corrected the actions of others, rather than shift blame and obstruct a federal investigation,” said Deirdre Fike, the Assistant Director in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. “I’m proud of the team of agents and prosecutors who persevered throughout this lengthy and challenging investigation, and grateful to the victims and witnesses who came forward.”

The obstruction scheme began in August 2011 after LASD officials discovered a cell phone linked the phone to the FBI’s Civil Rights Squad in an inmate’s cell at the Men’s Central Jail, and learned that the inmate was an FBI informant, according to the U.S, Attorney’s Office. 

The cell phone had been smuggled into the jail by a corrupt deputy who took bribes. The FBI had developed the informant as part of an investigation into the county jail system, which for years had been the subject of allegations of inmate abuse and subsequent cover-ups. The evidence presented at trial showed that the Sheriff wanted to avoid federal scrutiny of his “troubled” jails.

As part of the scheme to obstruct justice, Baca ordered a criminal investigation of the FBI agents conducting the investigation, and he directed his underlings to conceal the informant from federal investigators, according to prosecutors. 

Over the course of approximately six weeks, members of the conspiracy then took a series of steps that successfully hid the informant from federal authorities, engaged in witness tampering in an effort to prevent information from being shared with federal authorities, and threatened to arrest the lead FBI agent on the case, according to investigators. 

When Baca watched a recording of his deputies confronting the FBI agent, he reacted by stating “it was the best laugh he had in some time,” prosecutors noted in their sentencing memorandum filed with the court.

While Baca put his right-hand man, then-Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, in charge of the scheme, Baca participated in dozens of meetings and phone calls with members of the conspiracy and directed his deputies to approach the FBI agent. Baca participated in the scheme after being warned by a top deputy that the actions would amount to obstruction of justice, according to proceductors. 

The case against Baca is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is one in a series of cases resulting from the investigation into county jail facilities in downtown Los Angeles that has resulted in 21 convictions.

Baca was the tenth member of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department convicted in the obstruction scheme. Former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, who was also found guilty by a federal jury, was sentenced last year to five years in federal prison.  

Eleven other former deputies have been convicted of federal charges, mostly related to unprovoked beatings of inmates and subsequent cover-ups.

Judge Anderson ordered Baca to surrender to the United States Bureau of Prisons on or before Feb. 5.

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