Now suspended sheriff's deputy Allen Wereski appeared in San Diego County Superior Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to a charge of felony possession of a controlled substance on jail property.
The Deputy District Attorney for the case, Carlos Campbell, said a conviction for that crime can come with a maximum sentence of four years.
Wereski was arrested in early February after his colleagues searched his vehicle at the Vista Detention Facility and allegedly found cocaine. There was no further information about what prompted the search.
Deputy Arrests
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Wereski’s arrest happened within a month of another arrest of a San Diego County Sheriff’s deputy for allegedly stealing prescription pills from drop boxes meant for the public to surrender their expired or unwanted prescriptions.
The two arrests put the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department back in the spotlight, with renewed calls from jail reform advocates to follow the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board’s recommendation to screen all jail employees and staff before entering facilities.
“They think that they’re not bringing drugs in, but in January and February, we’re finding deputies that had drugs on them, so this is imperative that how much data do you need to say that we’re going to investigate and scan everyone for the public good,” said Yusef Miller with the North County Equity and Justice Coalition.
The California State Audit found that the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department was not doing enough to prevent in-custody deaths, many of which were from drug overdoses.
In an interview after Wereski’s arrest, Sheriff Kelly Martinez said she was disappointed in her employees who had gotten arrested, but proud of the ones who are holding them accountable.
“I’m really disappointed by the recent arrests, but I’m really proud of the work of the detectives and the deputies who had to be involved in these incidents, and they stepped up and did the right thing and we’re holding our own accountable,” she said.
Wereski remains out of custody on $25,000 bail. His next court appearance is set for April 11. The Deputy District Attorney said Wereski did work in the jail facilities and not out on patrol. Initially, Wereski had asked for a continuance for the arraignment because he wanted to retain a private attorney but later decided to plead not guilty.
