Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Ira Ynigo has died following an off-duty traffic collision, the department announced on social media this past Saturday. Ynigo, who spent seven years with the agency, had been serving as a bailiff in the Central Court Bureau since 2025 after beginning his law enforcement career at Men's Central Jail. According to a memorial image shared by the department, he died on October 13.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has not released details about where or how the crash occurred, according to KTLA, leaving open questions about the circumstances surrounding his death. The station reports that Ynigo graduated from academy class No. 441 and joined the department in 2019, starting his career in custody operations before transferring to court services. The department described him as a valued member whose dedication would be remembered, and it extended condolences to his loved ones, saying its thoughts and prayers were with his family, friends and colleagues.
From Custody Duty to the Courtroom
New LASD deputies routinely start their careers in custody facilities before moving on to court or patrol assignments, and Ynigo's path followed that pattern. He began at Men's Central Jail, the department's oldest general-population facility, which opened in 1963 in downtown Los Angeles and holds a capacity of 5,640 inmates across general, high-security, and medical housing units, per the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The agency is among the largest law enforcement operations in the country, overseeing roughly 18,000 sworn and civilian personnel across custody, court services, and patrol divisions.
By 2025, Ynigo had moved into the Court Services Division, which oversees bailiff operations and judicial security across the county's court system, assigning deputies to secure courtroom proceedings and manage inmate transports at downtown facilities. His seven-year tenure spanned both sides of that career arc — from the jail floor to the courtroom bench.
Civil Rights Lawsuit From His Jail Years
Ynigo's time at Men's Central Jail also drew legal scrutiny. In December 2024, an incarcerated man named Larry Jones filed a civil action against the county and Ynigo, alleging the deputy kicked a cell door shut on his hand in September 2023, resulting in a partial finger amputation, according to court filings reported by the Daily Journal. The complaint, filed under case number 24STCV32578, alleged the deputy kicked a cell door shut on Jones's hand.
In a February 2025 ruling on where the case should be heard, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel S. Murphy noted a declaration from Ynigo stating he had been recognized by community members at his gym, store, and workplace at the jail. Defendants had sought a change of venue, citing concerns about potential juror bias in Los Angeles County, the same court filings show.
Part of a Troubling Pattern for Off-Duty Deputies
Ynigo's death adds to a string of off-duty incidents involving LASD personnel in recent years. In a case Hoodline covered last year, a 21-year-old off-duty deputy was killed in a multi-vehicle collision on San Francisquito Canyon Road in Santa Clarita after finishing a double shift at North County Correctional Facility; he was airlifted to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. And in October 2024, off-duty Deputy Orlando Sotomayor Flores entered a no-contest plea to hit-and-run charges stemming from a 2018 crash on Interstate 10 in Covina that left a vehicle overturned.
Traffic data adds broader context to the risks officers face even when not on duty. A July 2026 Los Angeles County traffic safety report found that while overall crash volume peaks during the 5 p.m. commute, nighttime hours account for a disproportionately high share of fatal collisions, according to Jacoby & Meyers.
For now, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has offered no further information on the crash that killed Ynigo, and it remains unclear whether the collision happened during or after any shift. The agency's statement focused on his service, calling him a valued member of the department whose dedication would be remembered by colleagues across both the custody and court divisions where he worked.
