Ex-Deputy Gets 2 Years for Crimes During Drug Arrests

A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Monday to two years in prison for conspiracy to obstruct justice in order to commit crimes--including extortion, bribery and possession of cocaine.

Scott D. Graham, 27, of Toluca Lake had pleaded guilty to the charge several months after his arrest last year at the West Hollywood sheriff’s station.

The three-year officer and his partner, Wayne Desire, 27, were accused of keeping for themselves about 4 ounces of the 5 1/2 ounces of cocaine seized during a 1985 arrest. They were also charged with taking $800 in cash from another suspect, rather than arresting him for drug possession.

Graham resigned from the Sheriff’s Department after being suspended. Desire, meanwhile, has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert N. Jorgensen praised the sentence handed down by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aurelio Munoz, saying Graham deserved prison time because of the “unconscionable abuse of his authority.”

The county Probation Department had recommended probation for Graham, who claimed he turned to drugs as a result of financial and family pressures but has since reformed.