(NewsNation) — A former Los Angeles Police Department officer, who is also a registered sex offender, was arrested for human smuggling while in possession of a firearm last week, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said in a Friday news release.
San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents got a tip from a resident around 9:55 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6, about what they said was a suspected human smuggling event near the border involving an SUV.
Agents went to the area and located a vehicle that matched the resident’s report. Before they could try and stop the car themselves, its driver, Gariner Beasley, 62, pulled over to the side of the road.
Beasley, a United States citizen, presented to police a badge “similar in appearance and style” to that of a Los Angeles Police Department officer when agents approached him, the news release said.
In the back seat of the SUV were three adult women and one adult male, prompting agents to conduct an immigration inspection, according to the CBP. All four people in the vehicle told agents they had recently crossed the U.S./Mexico border unlawfully.
The agent placed Beasley and the passengers under arrest and took them to a nearby Border Patrol station.
As they searched the SUV, agents discovered an unserialized 9 mm handgun, or “ghost gun,” as well as two fully loaded 9 mm magazines and a shoulder holster.
The people being smuggled were processed for removal, while Beasley, the firearm and the vehicle were turned over to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department for further processing.
The San Diego Sheriff’s Department told NewsNation in an email that Beasley, who left the LAPD in 1993, was released on a $20,000 bond Saturday.
Record checks by the CBP showed Beasley is a former Los Angeles Police Department officer. A Los Angeles Times article from 2009 states he was charged in June 1992 with assaulting four women. In a deal with prosecutors, the Los Angeles Times reported, Beasley pleaded no contest to rape under the color of authority of two women and was sentenced to three years in prison. He was paroled in January 1994.
Beasley, according to the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, is facing charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, owning/possessing ammunition or a firearm when he is prohibited to and fraudulently impersonating a peace officer.
Beasley could be incarcerated for a maximum of seven years if convicted of these charges.