LAKE COUNTY >> An agreement between the Lake County Sheriff”s Office, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration Oakland Task Force Group was approved by the Lake County Board of Supervisors during their regular meeting last week. The cooperative effort will seek to increase efficiency as law enforcement deals with drug trafficking.
“The nature of the activity is two-fold,” Lake County interim undersheriff Chris Macedo said. “It is to address large scale marijuana cultivation in Lake County and large scale drug use.”
According to the contract, the Oakland Task Force Group will disrupt drug traffic Alameda County, gather and report intelligence data related to drug trafficking, as well as conduct undercover operations.
In order to assist the Oakland Task Force Group to accomplish these goals, the Lake County Sheriff”s Office has agreed to assign an experienced officer to the group for at least two years. This will speed communication and shared information without adding to the county”s costs.
“This investigator is allocated in the Sheriff/Coroner budget 2201 and all expenses, including salaries and benefits, vehicle costs and all miscellaneous expenses are paid by the Sheriff/Coroner budget with county general funds,” Lake County Sheriff Frank Rivero stated in his memorandum to the supervisors. “Any overtime costs or training specifically approved by this task force for DEA operations may be reimbursed under this agreement, up to $17,374 which is inclusive of any other federal overtime reimbursements.”
Officer Lucas Bingham, who was deputized for the Task Force Group position in 2012, will continue to be assigned to the role.
In previous years, an investigator and a sergeant were assigned to the task force. Since only an investigator is included in the new agreement, the sergeant has been reassigned, the memorandum states.
The agreement between the agencies will end on Sept. 29 of 2016.
The board approved the agreement with a 4-0 vote, with District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington being absent from the meeting.
J. W. Burch, IV can be reached at 900-2022.
