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Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. probation officer arrested, accused of supplying drugs to juvenile hall
A Los Angeles County probation officer was arrested Tuesday afternoon on charges he smuggled drugs into a juvenile hall where a teen died of a drug overdose in 2023, prosecutors said. Michael Solis, 59, allegedly conspired with two juvenile detainees to sell Xanax to people being held inside of Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar between May and August of 2023, according to a criminal complaint filed last week. Court records show Solis allegedly began conspiring to sell the drugs on May, 14, 2023, just five days after 18-year-old detainee Bryan Diaz died of a fentanyl overdose in the same building. 'Trafficking illegal drugs to juveniles is unconscionable under any circumstances, let alone as a government employee taking advantage of vulnerable youth in need of guidance and support,' Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement. 'Probation officers have as their primary duty the protection, health and safety of juveniles under their care. My office will not tolerate such an abuse of power, which endangers youth, undermines rehabilitation, and makes our communities less safe.' The L.A. County Probation Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear if Solis had legal representation or when he would be arraigned. A spokesperson for the district attorney's office declined to say if Diaz's death sparked the investigation into Solis, who faces up to three years in prison if he is convicted. Reports of increased drug use among teens held at the Secure Youth Treatment Facility at Nidorf, where Solis worked, had surfaced in the months before Diaz's death. In April 2023, the L.A. County Inspector General's office detailed two incidents where youths were taken to local medical facilities or revived with Narcan after fentanyl overdoses. A March 2023 search of the unit where the teens overdosed uncovered pills laced with fentanyl and 'two large bindles of what appeared to be fentanyl' inside a dormitory, according to the inspector general's report. Diaz died on May 9, 2023. Five days later, according to the criminal complaint, Solis began conspiring with two juveniles at Nidorf to bring Xanax into the jails. Court filings say he was caught on camera twice handing a juvenile — identified only as 'Co-Conspirator A' — small packages believed to be drugs inside Nidorf hall. Solis, who the juveniles nicknamed 'Old Boy' in phone calls recorded by law enforcement, was charging as much as $400 per drug drop, according to the complaint. The enterprise fell apart in August 2023, when 'Co-Conspirator A' was caught with 106 Xanax pills inside of Nidorf Hall, court records show. 'There is no room in this Department for anyone who violates the public trust and endangers the safety and wellbeing of the youth in our care,' Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said in a statement Tuesday. 'We applaud the action taken by District Attorney Nathan Hochman, and remain steadfast in our commitment to holding our staff to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and accountability.' Solis first came under scrutiny in October 2023 after another Secure Youth Treatment Facility resident, Nicholas Ibarra, was charged with bringing drugs into the facility. Ibarra told two probation officers — Reggie Torres and David Corona — that he could identify an officer bringing drugs into the facility, according to Tom Yu, an attorney representing both officers. Torres and Corona were both placed on administrative leave a short time later for conducting an 'incomplete investigation,' according to Yu, who said the charges against Solis vindicated the officers. 'My guys were unlawfully f—ed with essentially, they were harassed and they were obstructed from doing their jobs,' Yu said. 'Solis was the target of the investigation.' The probation department has not responded to Yu's allegations since he first made them in 2023. The charges are the latest in a series of criminal investigations targeting probation officers. Earlier this year, a California Attorney General's office investigation into so-called 'gladiator fights' at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey led to indictments against 30 officers. A probation supervisor also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in February, years after the Times published footage of him bending a teen in half inside Camp Kilpatrick.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Yahoo
Last man charged in 2020 killing of rapper Pop Smoke pleads guilty
The fourth and final person charged in connection with the 2020 killing of rising rap star Pop Smoke faces almost three decades in prison after pleading guilty to three counts this week, authorities said. Corey Walker, 24, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of voluntary manslaughter and two counts of robbery with firearm and gang enhancements, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped a murder charge against Walker. Walker is expected to be sentenced to 29 years during his next court hearing on Feb. 21. A call to Walker's attorney was not immediately returned Thursday. The district attorney's office said it would not comment on a pending case. Read more: Rapper Pop Smoke gunned down in Hollywood Hills home Pop Smoke, an up-and-coming rapper who drew acclaim following the release of his breakthrough mixtape, 'Meet the Woo,' and follow-up, "Meet the Woo 2," was shot in the torso during a home invasion robbery inside a posh Hollywood Hills house he was renting in February 2020. Smoke, whose legal name was Bashar Barakah Jackson, later died at a hospital. He was 20 years old. Investigators believe an image from an Instagram story may have revealed the address where he was staying, as well as valuables in his possession at the time. Four people were charged in his death. Walker, the lone adult at the time of the slaying, was the alleged ringleader of a group that included three juveniles, according to the district attorney's office. Read more: Pop Smoke's social media posts may have given his killers key clues The first defendant pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and home invasion robbery in April 2023 and was sentenced to four years and two months in the Secure Youth Treatment Facility. Another man, who was 15 at the time, admitted to a juvenile court petition charging him with first-degree murder in May 2023. He also admitted to home-invasion robbery and allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm during the crime. The man is expected to be held in a state juvenile facility until he turns 25. The fourth person charged in the crime "settled his case and was sent to a post-conviction juvenile housing facility," according to Rolling Stone. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
