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Published on April 18, 2024
L.A. Sheriff's Deputy Charged With Stealing Cash Evidence, Tampering, in Whittier IncidentSource: Facebook / Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office

An L.A. County sheriff's deputy could face over six years in the slammer after being hit with charges for allegedly pocketing cash evidence from a traffic stop, and then covering her tracks with a bogus police report. Jessica Lynn, a deputy of undoubted duty until now, allegedly crossed the line, committing the very crimes she was supposed to thwart.

The deputy, Jessica Lynn, 39, was accused of snatching cash from a coin purse she found in the stopped vehicle at a Whittier strip mall and then, in a move that has soured her badge, trashing that purse in a garbage can. Per the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Lynn faces charges of petty theft, evidence tampering, and filing a false police report.

"When an individual in such a position breaches this trust, it not only undermines the integrity of the entire justice system but also jeopardizes the safety and well-being of those they are sworn to protect," District Attorney George Gascón stated, laying bare the gravity of betrayal these charges represent. If convicted as charged, Deputy Lynn could end up serving a maximum sentence of six years, two months.

It was in the early hours of one April morning that the deputy allegedly elected to discard her role as a keeper of peace, swapping it for the cloak of the thief, or so the charges suggest. The driver caught in the deputy's web was without a valid license, but it's Deputy Lynn who's caught in the much tighter net of the law as the case ferries through the justice system. Her arraignment is marked for July 2, a date which could chart the course of her future.

The investigation is a tandem effort, spearheaded by the county's Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Justice System Integrity Division of the D.A.'s Office. The story of Deputy Lynn, once a figure of authority, has taken a nosedive into infamy - should the court find these claims have merit. Stay tuned as this case of law enforcement straying from the law itself continues to unfold.