Former LASD Sheriff Alex Villanueva set to begin deputy gang hearing
Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is to testify to the Civilian Oversight Commission on Friday about deputy gangs.
The former sheriff said previously that there are no gangs within the sheriff's department, and maintained that position just last month.
Villanueva's attorney, Linda Savitt, told the Los Angeles Times that he is "very willing to testify" and will "answer any questions you have under oath."
The news comes after years of Villanueva's resistance of subpoenas to testify about the topic under oath, and days after a Los Angeles County judge scheduled a hearing to decide whether to order Villanueva's compliance with the subpoenas, the Times said.
The Civilian Oversight Commission issued a report earlier in 2023 that alleged at least a half dozen deputy gangs are currently active throughout the sheriff's department, with "misbehavior" by the members costing taxpayers more than $55 million. Their report also determined that new deputy cliques form as members of existing groups retire or leave the sheriff's department.
According to their report, evidence was found to suggest that gangs have been re-emerging in the Men's Central Jail after years of effort to eradicate the problem of excessive force.
The commission was implemented in Jan. 2016 after a vote from county supervisors, with the goal to oversee and improve transparency and accountability with respect to LASD.
The legal dispute between the supervisors and Villanueva began in 2020, when the commission was granted subpoena power by a board vote. Their decision was affirmed when voters approved Measure R. Months later, Governor Newsom signed a similar measure into statewide law, allowing oversight bodies the power to subpoena.
Villanueva was first subpoenaed by the commission in 2020, directing him to testify about his response to COVID-19 inside of Los Angeles County jails. The dispute ended up in court, with Villanueva avoiding a contempt hearing after agreeing to answer the commission's questions, the LA Times noted.
Since then, the commission has issued several more subpoenas to Villanueva, which have been resisted by the former sheriff, resulting in multiple court cases.
Villanueva's lawyer has argued that the legislation signed by the governor described a two-step process and that a judge would first need to issue an order directing him to comply with subpoenas. In Sept. 2023, an appeals court agreed, leading county lawyers to start on the two-step process by asking for a hearing so that a judge could decide if Villanueva needed to comply with the subpoenas.
Villanueva is currently running for a Los Angeles County Supervisor seat against the incumbent Janice Hahn.