Behind the Badge
Investigators Bob Bogue and Mike Farley sat in a conference room at the Garden Grove PD on a recent afternoon talking about their long tenures as detectives at the agency, as well as their new jobs: working in a sexual assault unit.
Only their new work as investigators won’t take place at the GGPD – they will now be working for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
“I’ve always wanted to go to the DA’s office,” said Bogue, who officially retired from the GGPD – as a lieutenant – after 30 years on Feb. 1 and began his new job with the OCDA’s Sexual Assault Unit on Feb. 2.
Former GGPD Lt. Bob Bogue, left, and Det. Mike Farley talk about their move over to the OCDA’s office.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Farley, who has worked in law enforcement for 28 years, 18 of those at the GGPD, retired March 9 as a homicide detective, and will start at the OCDA on March 16 in the same unit. A third GGPD employee, Lonzo Reyes, who most recently was sergeant of the GGPD Career Criminal Apprehension Team (CCAT) and was a detective at the agency for nearly 20 years, also begins a new job with the OCDA – in Branch Court Services – on March 16.
“We’re basically the cops for the prosecution,” said Bogue of the 130 investigators currently working for the OCDA.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
As investigators for the OCDA Sexual Assault Unit, Bogue and Farley will be responsible for making sure all of the documentation required in a prosecution is in order. They will work on search warrants, find and interview witnesses and sit in on court proceedings.
As members of law enforcement, their job requires putting together enough evidence for probable cause to make an arrest. But now as OCDA investigators, there’s a higher burden of proof.
Farley said they “have to prove this person’s guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
While they’ll no longer be working against the clock to find criminals, they’ll now be working to find witnesses and victims – often years after the crime – to testify in court. It’s not always so simple.
“They don’t want to relive that feeling again of being victimized,” said Bogue.
But their background as longtime GGPD detectives will help them in their new jobs immensely.
Former GGPD Lt. Bob Bogue, left, and Det. Mike Farley smile as they talk about their time at the Garden Grove PD.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
“Once you become a detective, you always kind of think like a detective – you can’t go back,” said Bogue. “You still want to keep doing that work.”
There’s a long list of cases the detectives worked on at the GGPD. A big one that came to mind for Bogue was that of a triple murder of a Vietnamese family who had been tortured – with a 10-month-old baby girl who was left for dead.
“No food … barely moving,” Bogue said.
It turned out to be a drug-related killing, and the assassin was in Texas.
Former GGPD Det. Mike Farley, left, and Lt. Bob Bogue have a little fun with their colleague, former GGPD Sgt. Lorenzo Reyes, who is moving over to the OCDA’s office with them but was unable to attend the interview.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
“We solved that case and went to Texas and picked that guy up,” Bogue said, adding that once in court, the suspect was found guilty in 1 1/2 hours.
Farley recalled a 30-year-old cold case he worked on that is now pending in court – the suspect is awaiting trial for murder. He said it was satisfying to tell the family a suspect was in custody for their son’s killing. A lot of good investigative work went into that case, including locating witnesses and use of a wire.
“There was a lot of moving parts to that one,” Farley said.
Farley says he will miss the agency and the detectives unit.
“More than anything, I’m going to miss this crew,” he said.
Bogue said the GGPD has a very good reputation with the OCDA. He estimated at least half a dozen former members of the GGPD now work there.
“Because how hard we work here,” Bogue said of the agency. “Our reputation is very very good over there.”
