A former L.A. County Sheriff’s Department deputy accused of covering up a Stevenson Ranch DUI crash involving a fellow deputy nearly two years ago was held to answer to the charges.
Judge Mark Hanasono found sufficient evidence at Greg Davis’ May 13 preliminary hearing on five charges, one felony and four misdemeanors, connected to the incident.
Davis is expected to file a plea to the charges at his formal arraignment May 28 at Clara Shortridge Foltz Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles.
District Attorney George Gascón filed charges alleging Davis saw off-duty sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Lopez’s patrol vehicle crashed Aug. 26, 2022, near the intersection of Pico Canyon Road and North Southern Oaks, and tampered with the crime scene, according to statements from the DA’s office.
“Davis initially did not identify himself as an off-duty deputy,” according to Gascón’s statement.
“Davis arrived, allegedly pulled his fellow deputy’s limp body out of the crashed SUV and placed him in the vehicle of his fellow deputy’s wife, who drove him home. … Davis then attempted to move the deputy’s SUV before an off-duty LAPD officer passing by called authorities.”
The crime was uncovered because a Los Angeles Police Department officer called in an incident involving a man attempting to move the patrol car from a crash scene, according to Gascón’s office.
Davis’ charges include: a felony conspiracy to obstruct justice/injurious to public charge; and four misdemeanors: giving false information to a peace officer, and four counts of resist, obstruct, delay of peace officer or emergency medical technician.
The incident is part of an investigation by the Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division.
Davis previously worked for a specialized unit that includes the department’s High-Risk Tactical/Rescue Teams.
A statement Tuesday from the Sheriff’s Department indicated Davis is no longer an employee.
Carlos Ernesto Lopez was charged with two misdemeanor counts in connection with the crash: a DUI charge and driving with a blood-alcohol content higher than .08%, as well as a special allegation that he refused a chemical test or had a suspected BAC of .15% or higher.
The L.A. County Superior Court records had not been updated online to reflect the status of the charges against Lopez as of Tuesday, and an official with Department 48 did not have the information available as of the publication of this story.
