A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy pleaded guilty on Aug. 13 to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana as part of an interstate drug trafficking scheme in which the deputy agreed to use his position as a law enforcement officer to ensure the transport of narcotics.

Kenneth Collins, 50, admitted that he conspired with at least two other individuals to accept cash payments as large as $250,000 in exchange for distributing large quantities of controlled substances. Collins left the sheriff’s department in February, a month after he was charged.

According to a plea agreement filed in federal court, Collins agreed during an FBI undercover operation that he and his co-conspirators would provide an armed escort for the narcotics and take calculated steps to prevent law enforcement from intercepting the shipments. United States District Judge Otis D. Wright, II, scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 19. Collins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and could be sentenced to as much as life in prison without parole.

“Law enforcement officers are sworn to uphold the law, which is why we hold them to a higher standard of conduct,” said United States Attorney Nick Hanna. “Deputy Collins didn’t just break the law, he trampled his oath by agreeing to sell his badge to assist drug traffickers.”

In January, special agents with the FBI arrested Collins and two co-defendants – David Easter, 52, and Grant Valencia, 34 – after they arrived in Pasadena to provide security for the transport of nearly 45 pounds of cocaine and more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine to Las Vegas. Unbeknownst to Collins and his co-defendants, the narcotics transport was part of an FBI sting operation.

Collins had previously negotiated a cash payment of $250,000 for the transport with an undercover FBI agent posing as the partner of a wealthy investor financing a drug trafficking operation. Collins met Valencia through the Emerging Leaders Academy, a life-skills class where Collins was an instructor, according to court documents. In the academy, sheriff’s deputies taught and mentored adults released from custody with the goal of helping them reintegrate into society.

Collins admitted in court that he and his two co-defendants previously provided security in November 2017 for a shipment of what Collins believed to be six kilograms of methamphetamine, as well as marijuana and counterfeit cigarettes. In exchange for his team’s security services that day, Collins received $25,000 in cash.

Last October, Collins sold two pounds of marijuana to an undercover agent for $6,000 as a “test run” to entice the undercover agent to purchase larger quantities of marijuana. Collins also offered to facilitate the sale of marijuana valued at up to $4 million to the undercover agent every month, according to court documents.

Additionally, Collins further admitted that while on duty in May 2014, he conducted an unlawful traffic stop of a vehicle and illegally seized approximately $160,000 in cash. Prior to the traffic stop, Collins was aware that there would be a large sum of cash in the vehicle. Collins conducted the traffic stop to illegally seize the cash, and he never reported the seizure to his superiors at the sheriff’s department.

Trials for Easter and Valencia are scheduled to begin on Oct. 23.