Former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department evidence custodian Tommy Ray Trimble pleaded no contest Thursday to charges that he destroyed a blood sample taken after his 2024 DUI arrest, admitting to a stunt straight out of a bad crime show script. He was immediately sentenced to two days in county jail, two years of probation, and 30 days of community labor. The judge also ordered him into a six-month court-ordered alcohol-treatment program and imposed $300 in restitution.
According to prosecutors, Trimble used his insider access at the department’s crime lab in Downey to get to the sample. They say he went into a secured evidence vault, pulled his own blood vial, and tried to destroy it by heating it in a microwave.
Prosecutors' account
A news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office states that Trimble removed the vial from a secured vault at the Downey crime lab and heated it in a microwave, damaging the sample and interfering with testing. The release says he was charged in case 25DWCF01150 with one felony count each of second-degree commercial burglary, preparing false evidence, and destroying government records, along with a misdemeanor count of destroying evidence.
Sentence and court conditions
Under the plea, Trimble received his sentence on the spot, including the brief jail term, probation, community labor, alcohol-treatment program, and restitution, according to CBS Los Angeles. When the charges were first announced, District Attorney Nathan Hochman framed the case as a textbook attempt to dodge consequences, saying public officials "should expect to be held to a higher standard."
Timeline: arrest to filing
Trimble’s legal troubles started on July 7, 2024, when he was arrested on the 91 Freeway in Compton, and his blood was drawn as part of a DUI investigation, reporters noted in earlier coverage. A criminalist at the Downey facility later spotted the damaged vial on Sept. 11, 2024. The Sheriff’s Department then referred the matter to its Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau before prosecutors sent the case to the DA's Justice System Integrity Division, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Legal implications
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office news release notes that Trimble faces up to three years in state prison if convicted on the felony counts and that the case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Juree Kim of the Justice System Integrity Division. The release also stresses that the charges are allegations and that Trimble is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Where this leaves the department
Hoodline first covered the initial filing of charges in November; see Former LA Sheriff's Custodian Charged for background. The Los Angeles Times has reported that the Sheriff’s Department cut ties with Trimble after the damaged sample was discovered and that its internal investigation into the incident remains active.
