Former LA District Sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to prison for fake drug attacks

Marc Antrim, a former deputy sheriff in LA County, was convicted of orchestrating a fake drug robbery, a ruse that stole more than half a ton of cannabis and $ 600,000 in cash from a warehouse. He will sit in federal prison for seven years.

Antrim pleaded guilty to crimes in 2019 which included wielding a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and disenfranchisement. Now, after facing the judge in court, he has been found guilty and will be sentenced in a move that is not surprising considering he pleaded guilty. After the stunt that has been pulled, it is unlikely that law enforcement will find it easy to commit this crime.

“The gravity of the crime couldn’t be emphasized enough,” US District Judge Virginia A. Phillips said during the hearing. She claimed the crime was serious because it could further undermine public confidence in the law enforcement agency. Not only are people concerned about excessive police force, but they are also concerned about police operations.

The crimes of the LA County’s Deputy Former Sheriff

The crime was committed in 2018. Antrim took a police car from the sheriff’s station and showed his badge to the legal cannabis business that was being robbed. He claimed he had a search warrant and instructions to investigate. Although the former LA County’s deputy was off duty at the time, he was wearing his police uniform and was accompanied by three other accomplices, Kevin McBride and Matthew James Perez, and Daniel Aguilera.

McBride and James Perez helped arrest the camp security, and Aguilera showed up in a rental truck to get the cannabis. The robbery was almost over when the Los Angeles police showed up, but Antrim claimed he had the authority to search the property and call one of the officers with someone he said was his supervisor. This deceived the LAPD and they left and let the raid go on.

Their luck didn’t last when the company contacted their attorney, who turned to the sheriff’s department with footage of the robbery. From there, a GPS device attached to the moving truck led the authorities to McBride’s house, where they discovered the cannabis and a gun and flashlight registered with Antrim, as well as other firearms and lots of cash.

In addition to sentencing the former LA County sheriff’s deputy, McBride is serving six years in federal prison, according to the U.S. law firm, and several others have also been sentenced. Christopher Myung Kim served 14 years in planning the raid. A disgruntled former employee, he received stolen cannabis worth $ 1.5 million after the robbery. Perez, Aguilera, and Eric Rodriguez are all in jail, and Jay Colby Sanford, who served as the lookout, is on probation for five years.

This incident is another example of the damage the cannabis industry can take while federal legalization is on hold. Until cannabis is truly legal, there will always be room to question legitimate operations that can lead to mugging and other economic crimes like this fake drug heist.