Deputy tossed urine test of woman he wrongly accused of using drugs, California DA says

When a driver’s urine test turned up negative for drugs, a former Ventura County deputy tossed it in a trash can and tried to have her jailed anyway, California prosecutors say.

Richard Charles Barrios III, 29, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Nov. 16, to discarding physical matter, a felony, according to a news release from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.

Barrios pulled over a woman driving in Camarillo in November 2019 and accused her of driving under the influence, the release said. Another deputy concurred with his assessment.

The woman denied using drugs, but agreed to take a urine test if Barrios would apologize and drive her back to her vehicle if it was negative, prosecutors said.

At the Camarillo Police Station, Barrios tested the woman’s urine sample for drugs, which came back negative, the release said.

He threw the urine test in a trash can, told a supervisor the woman had refused to be tested and arranged for her to be taken to jail, prosecutors said.

When the woman protested to another deputy, he found the discarded urine test in the trash and notified his superiors, the release said.

The woman provided a second urine test, which also tested negative. An investigation found Barrios never administered a narcotics evaluation as he had claimed in a report.

“Our public places a great deal of trust and confidence in our peace officers, and we owe our public complete accountability,” said Sheriff Bill Ayub in a statement to KEYT.

“Whenever a peace officer betrays that trust, we have a duty to take corrective action,” Ayub said. “The internal mechanisms to identify unethical and unlawful behavior worked as they should in this case, and this is the proper outcome.”

Barrios faces up to a year in jail when he’s sentenced in December, prosecutors said.

This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 2:16 PM with the headline "Deputy tossed urine test of woman he wrongly accused of using drugs, California DA says."