Ex-L.A. County Sheriff to Plead Guilty in Jail Scandal

Retired Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca will plead guilty in a downtown courtroom Wednesday to making a false statement, marking a dramatic turn in the ongoing federal investigation into corruption in the Sheriff's Department, reports the Los Angeles Times .

Baca's attorney, Michael Zweibeck, said his client had agreed to plead guilty to a single count as part of a deal with prosecutors that will see him spend no more than six months in prison.

As part of the deal, the U.S. attorney's office will not pursue other charges against the former sheriff. A federal judge must sign off on the deal, Zweibeck said.

Baca, who ran the department for more than 15 years, retired in 2014 amid an FBI probe into misconduct and abuse by deputies in the county's jail system. So far, more than a dozen former sheriff's officials have been convicted as a result of the wide-ranging investigation, which began more than five years ago.