A former detective with the Californian Bakersfield Police Department has been sentenced to five years for his role in distributing methamphetamine.
Patrick Mara was handed down a lengthy jail term by a jury of his peers, early last month. This comes shortly after his partner, Damacio Diaz, was also sentenced to five years in jail for stealing and selling meth, as well as taking bribes and notifying drug dealers of potential busts. This comes at a time when Kern County, where Bakersfield is located, is suffering from what many are calling a meth epidemic.
While it seems that justice has been served, the prosecutors in both cases sought the maximum sentence of 21 years, however the judge intervened. Believing the sentence suggestion by the prosecution was too harsh, Judge Lawrence O’Neil stated that this crime was a “horrible, horrible tragedy” and gave both defendants the thin blue line discount, each only catching five years in jail. Mara had been previously awarded by his department for being “Exceptional Officer of The Year.” Now he, like all other disgraced officers, faces dismissal of the 64 pending cases that he and his partner had been involved in prosecuting. Letters were sent to all defendants in any pending cases, notifying them of pending dismissals.
These two aren’t the only officers in Kern County charged for their involvement in methamphetamine. This time last year, Kern County Deputy Edwin Tucker was arrested three times in a single week for being in possession, being under the influence of meth, possessing a handgun and threatening his children with said gun. Believe it or not, in the case of Edwin Tucker, the District Attorney simply failed to follow up with any charges. When the police in your town are hooked on meth, I’d say that’s pretty indicative of an epidemic.
Bakersfield and the surrounding Kern County have earned the title of the “armpit of California.” Its methamphetamine problem has made headlines around the nation. Meth has caused felonies to rise by over 50% between 2011 and 2015 and caused an increase in juvenile probation by over 37%.
Mara expressed his regret after his sentencing. He told the court that he “folded to temptation” while he was assigned to the department’s drug unit. “And now I’ve got to deal with the consequences of those actions. I’m ashamed of my actions, ashamed of myself.” Mara stated. “I apologize to the citizens of Bakersfield for betraying the trust that they had placed in me.”
The words provide little comfort to the citizens whose trust was betrayed. They police pride themselves in stringent screening techniques, however, time and time again, we see officers committing heinous crimes and have to wonder how they became cops in the first place. Cops want the trust of the public, but when cases like this one hit the papers on a daily basis, it’s easy to see why that trust can never be given.
Sources: Health-Street, BakersfieldNow, Cop Block.
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