LOS ANGELES — A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Thursday to more than five years in federal prison for attempting to smuggle more than a pound of heroin into a county jail, concealing the drugs in two Pringles cans while working in a unit responsible for investigating gang activity and drug trafficking inside the facility.
U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin sentenced Michael Meiser, 40, of Lancaster, to 67 months in federal prison Nov. 5 after he pleaded guilty in July 2025 to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Meiser worked at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic, part of the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center, where he was assigned to Operation Safe Jails, an intelligence unit responsible for monitoring gang activity and addressing violence and narcotics trafficking.
According to federal prosecutors, Meiser agreed to smuggle heroin into the jail in exchange for payments arranged by incarcerated people and their associates.
On April 24, 2024, one of Meiser’s relatives received $1,500 through Cash App from an individual connected to an incarcerated person. Six days later, Meiser drove his BMW from Lancaster to a Chevron gas station in Valencia, where he met two women in a Chevrolet SUV.
One woman handed Meiser a grocery bag containing two Pringles cans filled with approximately 511 grams, or 1.1 pounds, of heroin. The bag also contained two envelopes holding $15,000 in cash, which prosecutors identified as payment for the smuggling operation.
According to the Los Angeles Times, sheriff’s officials estimated that the heroin could have been worth approximately $226,000 inside the jail, where drugs are sold in small quantities.
Meiser placed the heroin and cash inside a green backpack that also contained his loaded handgun before meeting another deputy and riding with him to the jail.
The deputies passed through the facility’s initial security checkpoint and parked inside the jail complex.
Once inside, Meiser transferred the heroin to the trunk of a sheriff’s patrol vehicle, concealing the Pringles cans beneath computer equipment. He returned the $15,000 to his backpack and placed it in the other deputy’s truck.
Prosecutors said Meiser subsequently met with an incarcerated participant in the smuggling operation and spoke with him for several minutes.
Later that day, sheriff’s investigators stopped Meiser and his coworker as they attempted to leave the facility.
Investigators recovered the $15,000, Meiser’s loaded handgun, his badge and department identification from the backpack. They also located the heroin concealed inside the patrol vehicle.
The investigation raised concerns about relationships between deputies assigned to Operation Safe Jails and incarcerated gang leaders.
According to the Los Angeles Times, an internal investigation examined recorded jail telephone calls involving reputed gang leaders and their associates, including conversations that investigators believed concerned narcotics trafficking.
The newspaper reported that no other deputies had been implicated in the smuggling operation.
The Sheriff’s Department relieved Meiser of duty without pay before his guilty plea and terminated his employment in January 2026.
In a statement reported by the Los Angeles Times, the department described the conduct as a serious breach of public trust that undermined its responsibility to protect people in custody.
The sentencing proceedings also revealed competing arguments about Meiser’s punishment.
According to The Signal, federal prosecutors recommended a 70-month prison sentence, emphasizing that Meiser had worked in a unit responsible for combating narcotics trafficking and was familiar with the dangers of drug overdoses inside the jail.
Prosecutors argued that his conduct demonstrated disregard for the safety of incarcerated people, particularly because he had witnessed the consequences of drug use within the facility.
Meiser’s defense attorneys requested a five-year sentence, the mandatory minimum, citing his lack of a prior criminal record, financial difficulties and responsibilities caring for his father, who suffers from a progressive illness.
His attorney, Daniel Perlman, argued that Meiser had already suffered substantial consequences, including the loss of his career and financial security.
The defense also submitted a psychological evaluation describing Meiser’s relationships with incarcerated gang leaders and his claim that supervisors encouraged communication with those individuals to reduce violence inside the jail.
The Sheriff’s Department disputed suggestions that its practices excused misconduct, stating that employees are expected to maintain professional boundaries and protect the safety of incarcerated people.
Olguin imposed a sentence seven months longer than the defense requested and three months shorter than the prosecution recommended.
According to The Signal, separate criminal proceedings against Meiser remain pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The federal judge permitted his sentence to run concurrently with any sentence imposed in the state case.
The FBI investigated the federal case with assistance from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathy Yu prosecuted the case.
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