Fashion District Vendor Arrested for Bribing an Officer
When a Fashion District vendor allegedly passed a $2,000 bribe to a Los Angeles police officer, he did it fashionably—in a handbag.
Demba Camara was arrested on July 1 near the Los Angeles Convention Center after, authorities said, officers watched him hand over a bribe to Los Angeles Police Officer Randy McCain, who has been patrolling the downtown Los Angeles Fashion District for 15 years.
Camara, 35, was booked at LAPD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles for bribing a police officer, which is a felony. Bail was set at $25,000, police said.
“I was actually shocked because I have known this guy for about 10 years,” McCain said. “They know what type of person I am. For him to even think I would do this was a shock. When he came around that corner [to deliver the bribe], it was like, ’Wow.’”
The incident started June 24 when police officers patrolling Santee Alley and adjacent businesses arrested three people for selling counterfeit goods, McCain said. One of those was 24-year-old Karina Gonzalez, who is married to Camara, police said. Gonzalez, who has been arrested three times for selling counterfeit purses and is still on probation, was apprehended at her business at 936. S. Maple St.
Friends reportedly called her husband, who later called McCain several times. He even text-messaged McCain with “My God, don’t take my wife to jail. Pay U.”
“I had to read it two or three times before it clicked,” said McCain, who said he was amazed at the man’s audacity.
The following day, McCain reported the incident to his sergeant, who filed a police report. Then McCain called Camara and said he would get his wife released from jail in exchange for $2,000. They agreed to meet near the convention center, but Camara had no idea that the whole matter was being observed by about 10 police officers and detectives.
“He had ample time to back out,” McCain said, explaining there were four days between the phone call and the actual drop-off day.
McCain is still amazed Camara went through with it. “In all my years of working counterfeit, this is the first time this has happened,” McCain said. —Deborah Belgum
