LA County Sheriff's Deputy Pleads Guilty To Illegally Building Assault Rifle
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — One of 20 current and former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies facing corruption and civil rights charges pleaded guilty Monday to a weapons violation.
KNX 1070's Ed Mertz reports Deputy Richard Piquette was charged in December with illegally building and possessing an unregistered Noveske Rifleworks N-4 .223 caliber rifle with a barrel length of less than 16 inches.
LA County Sheriff's Deputy Pleads Guilty To Illegally Building Assault Rifle
If convicted, Piquette faces a possible federal prison sentence of up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine for manufacturing a short-barreled rifle, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Piquette, who is currently on leave from the Sheriff's Department, was previously assigned to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility.
A sentencing date was set for Oct. 8.
The remaining 19 current and former sheriff's deputies have pleaded not guilty to various offenses stemming from a federal probe of activities inside county jails.
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