Ex-L.A. County Sheriff's Obstruction Trial Ends in Mistrial

A mistrial was declared Thursday in the corruption case against former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca after a jury failed to reach a verdict on charges that he tried to obstruct an FBI investigation into allegations that deputies abused jail inmates.

U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson dismissed jurors in the afternoon after they had deliberated for more than three days. The mistrial offers a temporary reprieve for Baca, who ran the nation’s largest sheriff’s department for more than 15 years, reports the Los Angeles Times .

The former sheriff had faced conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges that could have sent the 74-year-old — who is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease — to prison for several years.

Prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office must now decide whether to retry Baca.