A federal judge ordered the Los Angeles Times Saturday to change a story about a suburban police detective accused of working with the Mexican Mafia after it was published, the newspaper reported.
The Times said it plans on appealing the ruling but for now has complied with the order of U.S. District Judge John F. Walter to delete information it obtained from a sealed document, the publication said.
The agreement with prosecutors and Glendale police detective John Saro Balian was supposed to have been sealed, but it was found by the Times after it mistakenly appeared on PACER, the public online database for federal court documents, the Times reported.
"We believe that once material is in the public record, it is proper and appropriate to publish it if it is newsworthy," Los Angeles Times executive editor Norman Pearlstine said in an article by the newspaper.
The HuffPost wrote that Balian pleaded guilty Thursday to accepting a bribe, obstructing justice and lying to federal investigators, but the terms of the deal were sealed by Walter. Balian's attorney asked for a temporary restraining order against the newspaper and Walter granted it after publication, according to the website.
"To the extent any article is published prior to issuance of this order, it shall be deleted and removed forthwith," Walter wrote, according to the Times. The judge wrote that Balian had a good chance of prevailing on the issue and "the balance of equities tips in his favor."
The Times wrote that confidential informants told the federal investigators that Balian had allegedly tipped off a gang member about an upcoming law enforcement sweep. The informant also claimed that Balian tipped him off about marijuana grow and drug stash houses before authorities could execute search warrants on them, the newspaper wrote.
The Times wrote that Balian remains on unpaid leave from Glendale Police this weekend and Magistrate Judge Alicia G. Rosenberg denied his request to be released on bond.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California in May when he was taken into custody, the federal complaint charged that Balian lied during an August 2017 interview with authorities who asked about his receipt of money from the informant and his relationships with several Hispanic gang members.
The affidavit charged that not only did Balian know them, but "texted them, provided them pre-paid cellular phones, and met with them in person," according to the statement.
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