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An 11-year veteran of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department remained under internal investigation as of Tuesday, Sept. 15, after admitting in August that he forged a recommendation for an applicant who was fired from the Pomona Police Department for making social media posts with racial connotations.

Investigator Jeremy Buraglia remained employed with the department as of Tuesday, Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Breckner said. He was put on paid administrative leave in May 2019, after discrepancies regarding a former recruit he conducted a background check for came to light. That trainee, Mario Barragan, was fired in April 2019 before becoming a fully-fledged deputy.

Buraglia admitted to one count of conspiracy and two counts of false personation. He was sentenced Aug. 7 to three years of probation, a $100 fine and 200 hours of community service. Barragan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and was sentenced Aug. 4 to three years of informal probation and a $100 fine. He must complete 80 hours of community service.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office filed felony accusations against the two Anaheim Hills men on June 17. If they had been convicted of those charges, Buraglia and Barragan could have been sentenced to about four and three years in prison, respectively, but they instead agreed to plead guilty to less serious offenses. The reduction from felony to misdemeanor-level offenses was a decision made in court by Superior Court Judge John Zitny, and was not the result of a plea deal with prosecutors, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.

The District Attorney’s Office did not provide detailed information on the circumstances of Zitny’s decision and defense attorneys could not be reached or declined comment. It’s not publicly known who first proposed reducing the charges to misdemeanors and why the defendants agreed to plead guilty.

“The Sheriff’s Department acted appropriately in bringing this case to us, and our office acted appropriately in pursuing it,” Spitzer said. “But how in the world am I supposed to keep dirty cops accountable when the courts reduce the charges on such an egregious case?”

Barragan’s attorney, Paul S. Meyer, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The lawyer representing Buraglia, Robert J. Hickey, declined to discuss the matter. The case is still under review by Sheriff’s officials for other potential policy violations, Breckner said.

The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, a union that represents members of the OCSD, denounced the misconduct committed by Buraglia and Barragan, spokeswoman Alexa Pratt said. However, she said their sentences were just.

Buraglia had an otherwise exemplary career with the Sheriff’s Department, Pratt said. He was recognized by the Red Cross for saving a man from drowning in a pool in November 2016. He earned $256,339 in pay and benefits in 2017, according to the website Transparent California.

“Buraglia had a promising career and always went above and beyond in his service to the community,” Pratt said.

Barragan applied to join the Sheriff’s Department and had been rejected four times since 2012. Buraglia was assigned to conduct a background check for the prospective hire’s fifth bid to join the agency, which was approved in November 2018.

The former recruit was fired after authorities received a tip alleging his recommendation was forged. By pleading guilty, Barragan admitted that he conspired with Buraglia, a friend who wrote and signed the letter purportedly authored by former Pomona Police Chief Paul Capraro.

Barragan did work for the Pomona Police Department on a probationary basis. But he was fired in April 2015 after posting photos of law enforcement equipment along with the hashtags “#brasspass,” “#causeican,” and “wisha*****would.”

“He would never have been hired if not for his friend,” Breckner said. “It really is incumbent on the background investigator to do a thorough investigation, but they tried to circumvent the system.”

Spitzer said Barragan had “no business being in law enforcement,” and that offenses like those he and Buraglia admitted to make it harder for law-abiding deputies to do their jobs. He added that the reduction from felony to misdemeanor charges in this case sends a message that could weaken the public’s trust in the department.

The conspiracy between the two friends came to light as concerns over law enforcement policies on issues like recruitment, training and the use of force rose to the forefront of public discourse following the killing of George Floyd. Measures designed to prevent law enforcement agencies from recruiting officers previously involved in misconduct are part of the Justice in Policing Act proposed by U.S. House Democrats in June.

However, California lawmakers rejected adopting such legislation at the state level last month.

Staff writer Sean Emery contributed to this story.