A disgraced former California cop plead guilty Thursday to distributing cocaine he stole from the police department’s evidence locker, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
John Abel Baca, 47, confessed to selling the illegal powdery stimulant twice in 2021 to a single “cooperating witness,” according to KTLA 5. That witness said to prosecutors that former Inglewood Police Department (IPD) officer Baca indicated he had stolen drugs and money during routine traffic stops as well as from his tenure on the IPD’s drug task force, per the Department of Justice press release.
A former Inglewood Police Department officer has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of distributing cocaine, officials announced Thursday.https://t.co/vDoCpufgqV
— KNX News 97.1 FM (@knxnews) October 12, 2023
Baca provided the witness with a sample as the witness struck the ex-officer as a prospective buyer, per the DOJ. A number of days later, Baca sold “a brick of cocaine” at the individual’s place of business and later collected $22,000 in cash from the alleged buyer’s home, according to the press release. (RELATED: Suspect Allegedly Hurls Drug-Filled Fridge Out Window During Police Raid)
Leading up to the two transactional encounters, the witness told the FBI Baca offered to peddle the kilogram of cocaine, a couple of grams of “White China” heroin and an “unlimited supply of black tar heroin,” according to the DOJ.
“In the plea agreement, Baca admitted that he abused his position of trust as a police officer, including by stealing drugs from IPD’s lock-up and reselling them,” prosecutors stated, per the press release. (RELATED: American Airlines Mechanic Found Guilty Of Conspiring To Traffic Bricks Of Cocaine On Airplane: DOJ)
Meanwhile, #OurEnemiesInBlue keeping the streets safe again: Former Inglewood cop admits to selling brick of cocaine, stealing from evidence locker https://t.co/qPXEDTmt3F
— Polemicist (@PalmTreesnGz) October 13, 2023
Baca served the Inglewood Police Department for 21 years. He is currently free on a $1.1 million bond. Baca is poised to plead guilty Tuesday in a federal courthouse. He is facing a maximum of 20 years in a federal prison.