Cops Getting Arrested

Sodini is no longer employed by Merced County, according to Deputy Tom MacKenzie, sheriff's spokesman.

Sgt. Rich Howard, who runs the county's narcotics task force, testified that his agency set up the sting operation after a confidential source informed them that Sodini was smuggling the contraband.

One of the informants said Sodini brought tobacco and methamphetamine into the jail -- and had been using them as payment for an inmate to "take care of," another inmate who'd assaulted one of Sodini's relatives while out of custody, according to the sheriff's report.

Sodini let an inmate use his cell phone to order "drops," which Sodini would pick up from outside the jail and smuggle into the facility, according to the report.

The informant said the drops would happen "every couple of days," saying Sodini was "very open with the inmates and willing to bring contraband into the jail, and he does it right out in the open and in front of the jail," according to the report.

The informant also told detectives that a bag of meth, a glass pipe and a lighter were given to the inmate who was supposed to handle the retaliation against the man who'd assaulted Sodini's relative, according to the report. The informant also said inmates at the jail bragged about Sodini bringing the items into the jail, calling him their "mule."

A package containing cigarettes and a small white packet of salt was prepared by detectives when the HIDTA initiated the sting operation Feb. 8, according to Thursday's testimony.

When a plainclothes detective placed the package at a drop point they had learned about from an informant, detectives monitored the area and saw Sodini walk from the jail, pick up the package, and walk back toward the jail, according to testimony.