LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. (TCN) — A 40-year-old former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to approximately 5.5 years in federal prison for possessing about a pound of heroin — and attempting to smuggle it into a jail using Pringles potato chip cans.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Michael Meiser was working as an LASD deputy at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic, California, in April 2024, and had an agreement with inmates to smuggle drugs into the jail in exchange for payments on Cash App.
Prosecutors said he received about $1,500 on Cash App and another $15,000 in cash from inmates, the Los Angeles Times reports. Meiser, whose job at the jail involved monitoring gang activity, had attempted to smuggle a pound of heroin hidden inside two Pringles potato chip cans into the jail. According to federal officials, there was about $226,000 worth of the drug inside the cans.
Meiser pleaded guilty in July to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was sentenced to 67 months — or approximately 5.5 years — in federal prison on Nov. 5.
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