Former LASD deputy sentenced to nearly 6 years for smuggling heroin in Pringles cans

A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy was sentenced to 67 months in federal prison after admitting to attempting to smuggle more than one pound of heroin into a county jail, KTLA 5 reported.

Michael Meiser, 40, of Lancaster, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin and was involved in a smuggling scheme while working at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic, CBS News Los Angeles reported.

In April 2024, Meiser agreed with inmates to smuggle narcotics into the jail in exchange for cash and Cash App payments arranged for him and one of his relatives. He received two Pringles cans containing approximately 1.1 pounds of heroin and $15,000 in cash from women associated with an inmate at a Valencia gas station, according to KTLA 5.

Meiser placed the heroin-filled cans and his loaded handgun in a backpack and rode with another deputy into the jail’s parking lot past the initial security checkpoint. Later that day, LASD investigators stopped Meiser and the other deputy as they left the jail and found the heroin, cash, and Meiser’s badge and identification in the truck, CBS News Los Angeles reported.

The FBI and LASD’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau conducted the investigation that led to Meiser’s arrest and sentencing.