Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy Kenneth Collins was arrested Tuesday and faces charges of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance as well as offering other “cops” to help ensure safe passage of drugs in large quantities.
The allegations follow a months-long FBI investigation into Collins and his associates in law enforcement.
The Los Angeles Times reports that 50-year-old Collins’ arrest occurred when he was busted in a sting operation he allegedly believed to be a drug deal.
A complaint filed against Collins in U.S. District Court reveals agents talking about “his extensive drug trafficking network, past criminal conduct, and willingness to accept bribes to use his law enforcement status for criminal purposes.” One of the agents had a recording in which Collins allegedly said, “I fix problems. I make a lot of things go away.”
Another complaint filed against Collins is based on meetings with an undercover agent who posed as an investor for an illegal marijuana grow house. Collins allegedly told the agent he could “provide security and … had three teams already working in the region, including one that was protecting an illegal marijuana grow house disguised as an auto repair shop.” Later, he allegedly described one of his security teams as cops who would “travel … with guns.”
Collins was denied bail after his arrest. Two of his alleged accomplices, 51-year-old David Easter and 34-year-old Grant Valencia, were also arrested and face charges of conspiring to deliver a controlled substance. A fourth suspect, 56-year-old Maurice Desi Font, was also arrested but his charges were not publicized.
Easter was granted a bail of $115,000, while neither Valencia nor Desi Font sought bail.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange