Jury Selection Complete in Trial of 7 Deputies

A 12-member jury, evenly split between men and women, was chosen Wednesday to decide the fate of seven Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies accused of stealing $1.4 million in cash from suspected drug traffickers and money launderers.

The selection of the racially mixed jury, which includes Latino, African-American and Asian-American panelists, came after a full day of questioning and cleared the way for federal prosecutors and defense attorneys to make their opening statements today for the long-awaited trial.

The seven deputies are accused in U.S. District Court of a conspiracy that skimmed money seized during narcotics raids. Some of the defendants, who worked together on the Sheriff’s Department’s elite teams that investigated major narcotics cases, are also facing theft and tax-evasion charges as part of a 27-count indictment. The wife of one deputy is also a defendant.