US judge questions plea deal in deputy assault case

The federal judge overseeing the case of a former Los Angeles County deputy sheriff who was convicted of assaulting a woman in Lancaster ordered the prosecutors on Tuesday to brief him on why he should grant their post-trial plea agreement, striking portions of the jury's verdict.

The case has become a cause among Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, who support Trevor James Kirk.

On the other hand, the Department of Justice's request for a reduced sentence has resulted in all but one prosecutor leaving the cases.

Months after Kirk was found guilty in February, the Department of Justice proposed a plea that would reduce a maximum 10-year felony conviction to a 12- to 18-month prison sentence and one-year probation period.

The agreement asks to strike the jury's finding that Kirk used a dangerous weapon and caused the victim a bodily injury, reducing the verdict to one lesser offense related to deprivation of rights under color of law, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 242.

"The court has questions as to its authority to grant such a motion," U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson wrote in a text-only order on the Los Angeles federal court docket. "Accordingly, the court ORDERS plaintiff to file briefing regarding the court's authority to grant a motion by the government to strike portions of a jury verdict."

Wilson ordered the briefing to be filed by May 13. U.S. v. Kirk, 2:24-cr-00527 (C.D. Cal., filed Sep 4., 2024).

The agreement was filed on May 1 by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Keenan, who joined the case post-trial. He is the only prosecutor left on the case after four others withdrew themselves from it, according to the docket. This included Cassie D. Palmer, the chief of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section.

According to sources first reported over the weekend by the Los Angeles Times, the government attorneys purportedly resigned because of the agreement and the involvement of Bill Essayli, the new U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.

Essayli, appointed by President Donald Trump, was sworn in on April 2.

The matter follows a boycott of more than 20 sheriff's stations last month, refusing to participate in the annual Baker to Las Vegas relay race in solidarity with Kirk after he was convicted.

The case began in 2023 when Kirk, responding to a report of a robbery at a WinCo Foods supermarket, approached a woman - the victim identified as J.H. in the indictment - who was recording the arrest. After attempting to grab her phone, he then slammed her to the ground face first and pepper sprayed her.

Sheriff's deputies who support Kirk have said the woman was a suspect, along with a man, in the robbery, and that she refused to obey Kirk's lawful orders.

The incident was broadcast on YouTube Live and went viral on the internet. Kirk was convicted of using excessive force with a dangerous weapon.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly quoted U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli as saying that the review will offer "hope that this wrongful and politically charged prosecution will finally receive the fair consideration it deserves." Essayli did not say this. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Professional Association was quoted in other media as saying this.