Powered by WordPress.com VIP. He will have about two months to think about what comes next. She changed her plans following her fathers indictment. According to court documents, while employed as a police officer with the Bakersfield Police Department (BPD), Diaz handled a criminal informant, for nearly three years between April 2012 and February 2015, who was involved in the large-scale sale and distribution of the drug methamphetamine. Their actions risked their fellow officers safety for greed.. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. JIM WHITE : Thomas. Early on, ONeill seemed to be signaling he was taking a hard-line stance. Diaz, a 17-year Bakersfield cop, worked on 32 cases involving 53 defendants, with 20 requiring letters, she said. Damacio Diaz. DAMACIO DIAZ, by and through his counsel, DAVID A. TORRES, hereby submits Damacio Diaz' Statement in Mitigation for the court's consideration. He is portrayed by Kevin Costner. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. These men were the real life inspirations for McFarland USA. Thanks! Jim White | Heroes Wiki | Fandom Some of these teams that came after us were way better than us, way better than me as far as the running. [CHUCKLES] When we were growing up, maybe seven, eight, nine, ten thousand people is the population. During the investigation, five other officers were placed on administrative leave related to the investigation and one recently resigned. Go see it with your family! Eliu Garza, also a McFarland High runner, is . ONeill instructed Delaney to directly telephone the warden of the prison assigned to receive Diaz in order to help ensure the safety of the former cop who will soon find himself behind bars. What happened to Damacio Diaz? Bakersfield cop seen in 'Killing County' Michael Aguero as Damacio Diaz Rafael Martinez as David Diaz Ramiro Rodriguez as Danny Diaz Diana-Maria Riva as Seora Diaz Vanessa Martnez as Maria Marsol Martha Higareda as Lupe Valente Rodriguez as Principal Camillo Chris Ellis as Coach Jenks Eloy Casados as Dale Padilla Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Seora Valles Production [ edit] So we have a lot of uncles and everybody has a lot of kids. Join Facebook to connect with Damacio Diaz and others you may know. Mr. Diaz, their dad Paul, he pushed education real hard, too. Do you feel like the movie does a good job of describing that culture (of family and pickers)? BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - - Damacio Diaz, 43, of McFarland, a detective with the Bakersfield Police (BPD) was arrested today, charged with abusing his position of trust as a police detective when he conspired with and assisted a narcotics dealer in the operation of the dealer's drug organization, announced United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, FBI Special Agent in Charge Monica M. Miller . Diaz pleaded guilty last spring as part of a plea agreement that became public in May. Newsweek has everything you need to know about what happened to Bakersfield cop Damacio Diaz and why. Did that change how you ran in future races? An interview with Jim White, David Diaz, Damacio Diaz and Danny Diaz var _ndnq = _ndnq || []; _ndnq.push([embed]); Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Map: Track this weekends rain in the Bay Area, McFarland USA runner gets prison for corruption as police detective. Primary filming took place in McFarland, California in 2013. We started picking and hoeing and raking and doing everything you could possibly think of. Its grown a little bit in the last two, three years but not much has changed. Learn how your comment data is processed. Ray referred to Felicia Rosario as his "wife," though they were never married. I had never been the top five, and as you know the top five are the ones that score. But Mr. White was our second father. Still, it was rarely the entire quantity as he, his partner Patrick Mara, as well as an associate, reportedly had this combined side hustle. DIAZEugenia Vasquez Diaz loving wife, mother, grandmother passed away on August 1, 2012 at the age of 94. Carter was also ordered to pay $70,513 in restitution to his former employerwho he admitted to embezzling money fromand to forfeit $286,251 in proceeds from drug trafficking, according to federal prosecutors. [LAUGHS] So, just to let yall know were proud of what Hollywood did and what Niki and the producer and everyone did, but we lived in a very, very strict environment and still do to this day. The corruption scandal broke in November 2015 when federal agents arrested Bakersfield Police Detective Damacio Diaz for helping traffic methamphetamines. There is no shame in admitting that this case has kept me awake at night, and few do, ONeill said to the packed courtroom. [LAUGHS] And we dont have the big grocery stores. In 2018, another man, Noel Carter, from Bakersfield, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Diaz and Mara to distribute drugs, according to federal prosecutors. The former teammates arenot only working in their hometown, but also raising their families there andactively supporting the cross-country teams of today by coaching, helping outwith the meets and practices and donating goods or money so the teams havewhat they need. Partly cloudy this evening followed by increasing clouds with showers developing after midnight. teacher. children ran for Jim White and all seven A couple weeks later, the Bakersfield Police Department put him on leave after a federal investigation started to reveal an alleged connection to a major meth dealer. All seven Diaz Though it is very close, Jim White likely wouldn't have had a clear view of it from his classroom window, as a street of homes separates the school's athletic fields from the prison grounds. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Damacio Diaz Profiles | Facebook Read More: Where are BPD Officers Aaron Stringer and Rick Wimbish Now? Additionally, Coach White would be there for counseling and fulfilling needs beyond what their parents could afford. Starring Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Carlos Pratts, Hector Duran, Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media, No. If you havent seen a trailer yet, here you go, Follow McFARLAND, USA on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mcfarlandusa, Follow Disney Pictures on Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneypictures. Damacio seemingly prefers to stay well away from the spotlight these days, but we do know the family man tied the knot with his long-term partner, teacher Courtney Diaz, on January 26, 2021. According to the California Department of Justice, Diaz and Mara conspired with another man, Noel Carter, 46. Yes. He would beat us up all the time. "It was damaging. In a remarkable statement made before reporters Friday, Kern County District Attorney Lisa Green said her office will mail out 64 letters to d, Positive Cases Among Kern Residents: 310,095, Recovered and Presumed Recovered Residents: 305,002, Percentage of all cases that are unvaccinated:71, Percentage of all hospitalizations that are unvaccinated:83.13, Source: Kern County Public Health Services Department. Real-Life Diaz Brothers Discuss Growing Up in McFarland, USA Delaney was the prosecutor in the case. Damacio Diaz, 43, was arrested on November 20, 2015 and charged with abusing his position of trust as a police detective when he conspired with and assisted a narcotics dealer in the operation of the dealer's drug organization. Its grapes and its oranges and its almonds and its cotton and stuff in our area, but those werent available. Damacio Diaz one of the three Diaz brothers depicted in the 2015 Disney film about the victorious Central Valley team admitted to lying on his tax returns and accepting bribes from an . Damacio was actually indicted on 16 federal counts related to bribery, drug trafficking, and filing a false tax return on the grounds he resold a lot of the drugs he confiscated during his police work. The. As well as accepting illegal bribes, Diaz engaged in drug trafficking while with the BPD. Damacio Diaz, 43, of McFarland, a detective with the Bakersfield Police Department was arrested today, charged with abusing his position of trust as a police detective when he conspired with and . Five years in jail for a law enforcement officer thats still a serious sentence. The community of McFarland still works as a village to raise their youth. A previous version of this article said the district attorneys office reviewed 108 cases involving the detectives. McFarland, USA vs. the True Story of Coach Jim White's 1987 Team The former narcotics officer is now known, however, for going to prison in 2016 for charges tied to drugs, bribery and tax fraud. Former detective Patrick Mara was also. Theres nothing to do in McFarland. I notice a lot of you became teachers. DAMACIO DIAZ : Mr. White might have more than us. Former detective depicted in 'McFarland, USA' is sentenced to five He was a fifth grade teacher and before he was a P.E. Under the circumstances, theres absolutely no issue of dual justice here, he said. We were very happy that that was going to take place. A true crime thriller we made set in Kevin McCarthys district. We basically told our story, got interviewed for hours and hour and hours, and that was pretty much it. They were sooo funny to chat with. Disgraced former BPD detective Damacio Diaz released from federal DANNY DIAZ : Im trying to be nice here. Uh, it was 1988 and I was a senior at that time and my brother, Damacio, was a junior. However, he did rebuild the boys and girls cross country programs from the ground up. In Boise, Idaho, 1987, Jim White and his title of coach is signifying his status as a . Both girls were on this trip to a meet in Santa Maria and the beachs, and these photos are from Silvia's album, which her family had saved. Four years ago on a sweltering afternoon, Bakersfield Police Det. Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said at the time of Diaz's sentencing: "Diaz had a life that afforded him many opportunities, including the opportunity to serve and protect his community as an officer of the law. If one or two of those boys couldn't make practice at four o'clock 'cause they're just gettin' in from work, then I might practice at 6 or 7 o'clock with those boys. The relationship between the brothers and Coach White is endearing. DANNY DIAZ : Absolutely. DAVID DIAZ : Yeah, so just to let you know: I think Hollywood did a, a very good job of depicting and not making it look too guilty as regarding CPS. The love they genuinely have for him was heartfelt and true. He also was indicted on charges of disclosing wiretap information to a criminal partner, interfering with a criminal investigation, and other felonies, but those charges were dismissed in the plea agreement. So , DANNY DIAZ : Mr. White never went back to Stockton never again. Talbert said that we concluded no officers were complicit in joining Diaz and Mara, and that no further prosecutions were planned at this time. Bakersfield Police Corruption Scandal Could Have Wide Impact His attorney says he should be home for the holidays and then back in court in Fresno in January. It was back in 1987 when Damacio Diaz inadvertently became a local celebrity of sorts owing to the way he built McFarland High Schools winning cross-country dynasty alongside his two brothers. Theyre looking out for my kids and were trying to police each other, because its very easy to get distracted and go way off course. was like to have a movie made about his We were about seven or eight years old when all that began. Sentencing for Damacio Diaz continued to October - Yahoo! 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"I think it goes to show that sometimes the portrayal of images, and good work that has happened in the past, sometimes comes to what we see today and that people aren't always what they seem," said Greg Williamson, Bakersfield police chief. A lot of us competed in college. Yes. You can read our Kevin Costner Interview about his role as Jim White in the McFarland, USA movie.