Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested in Drug Sting

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who had been under surveillance for about a month was arrested when he tried to purchase a kilogram of cocaine from an undercover officer on a downtown street, authorities said Thursday.

William Barr, 25, a 4 1/2-year veteran of the department, was arrested about 2:15 p.m. Wednesday near Alameda and Macy streets, said Deputy Larry Mead, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman.

“As soon as he exchanged the money and took possession of the cocaine, undercover guys moved in,” Mead said.

Detectives later found two 9-millimeter semiautomatic handguns in Barr’s car, Mead said.

At the time of his arrest, Barr worked as a jail deputy at the North County Correctional Facility, one of five jail facilities that house more than 10,000 inmates at the sprawling Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho in Castaic, Mead said.

Detectives assigned to the department’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau, which conducted the operation, did not indicate whether Barr planned to sell drugs to inmates at the facility, Deputy Rich Erickson said.

The internal unit learned that Barr had inquired about a possible cocaine purchase through an anonymous tip, Mead said.

Barr was booked on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sale at the Men’s Central Jail in Downtown Los Angeles, and was being held on $100,000 bail, Mead said.

He is jailed in a section of the facility reserved for defendants of high profile cases and those whose lives would be endangered if they were placed with the general jail population, Mead said.

He is scheduled to be arraigned at the Criminal Courts Building at 8:30 a.m. today, Mead said.

Rickey Ross, an 18-year veteran of the department, is now on trial for allegedly attempting to purchase 22 pounds of cocaine from a federal drug agent.