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An Orange County sheriff’s deputy accused of mishandling evidence was promoted to sergeant less than a year after the Sheriff’s Department referred his case for possible criminal prosecution, a public defender alleged recently in court filings.

The sergeant, Philip Avalos, failed or was late to book weapons, drugs and other property in 51 cases, according to internal Sheriff’s Department documents filed by Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders in court March 2. The documents, detailing cases from 2016 to 2018, were submitted as part of Sanders’ discovery motion in a drug case.

The revelation marks the latest development in a growing scandal involving improper booking practices by more than a dozen deputies. The department’s policy requires evidence to be booked by the end of each shift, but an internal audit in 2018 found that deputies routinely booked evidence late or failed to book evidence completely.

Avalos, in one instance, took nine months to book a machete he seized from a suspected gang member during a 2017 traffic stop in Anaheim, according to Sheriff’s Department investigation.

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