A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was charged Thursday with a felony count of perjury for allegedly lying about finding a gun in a vehicle parked at a Gardena motel two years ago.
Kevin Honea, 33, is set to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
Honea was among a group of sheriff’s deputies who found a car at a Gardena motel on May 24, 2019, that had been used in a recent crime, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
A stolen handgun was discovered in the vehicle’s trunk by another deputy, according to prosecutors.
Honea allegedly lied during court testimony that he discovered the weapon in the front seat of the vehicle, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“Lying under oath damages the credibility of law enforcement and creates doubt and mistrust by the public,” District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement announcing the case. “The scales of justice must always remain balanced in a court of law.”
Honea is the second Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy to be charged this week.
On Wednesday, Daniel Manuel Auner was charged with murder and reckless driving for an off-duty crash in Torrance last summer that killed his 23- year-old passenger, Ashley Wells, and seriously injured two other passengers.
Auner, 23, is set to be arraigned June 11 in a Torrance courtroom.