Narcotics Detective Surrendered on Criminal Marijuana Charge

A  former deputy who lives in Danville—now a San Leandro Police narcotics detective—has been charged with one count of illegally transporting and furnishing the sale of marijuana, the department announced Friday.

San Leandro Chief of Police said during a press conference Friday afternoon that the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office filed a criminal charge against San Leandro Police Detective Jason William Fredriksson, 38, alleging he provided marijuana to a confidential informant for sale.

Police said on March 10 he provided more than one pound of marijuana to a female informant with whom he had a "personal relationship." She is a San Leandro resident but is not an employee of the department.

Authorities are still trying to determine where the marijuana came from, she said.

Fredriksson was admitted into police custody after surrendering today about 12:30 p.m. to the Hayward Hall of Justice on a $50,000 warrant for his arrest. 

He plead not guilty during his arraignment this afternoon in Hayward and  the judge reduced his bail to $40,000, over the objections of the prosecution. He posted bail following the hearing.

His pretrial hearing is scheduled for June 14.

In an ongoing, unrelated scandal shaking Contra Costa County's law enforcement community, two police officers, from Danville and San Ramon; a former drug task force commander; and a Concord private investigator and former Antioch police officer have been on multiple felony counts, including the theft and sale of illegal drugs from evidence lockers.

Fredriksson has been a member of the department since July 2002 and has worked as one of three detectives with the vice/narcotics unit for nearly three years.

Prior to his time at SLPD, he worked for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. He grew up in the San Ramon Valley and is a 1991 graduate of Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek.

His father is retired from the San Francisco Police department; his mother is retired from a job as a preschool director in Alamo.

Five days after the alleged crime, the vice/narcotics unit, confiscating nearly 1,000 plants in a Washington Avenue office building on March 15.

According to police, the department first learned that Fredriksson might be involved with the illegal sale and distribution of marijuana on March 18, following a tip from a San Leandro resident, who was not the police informant.

The police department, along with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, immediately began a criminal investigation.

Fredriksson was placed on paid administrative leave March 21, and police searched his home two days later, police said.

Spagnoli would not say what officers found, but that they seized "items supporting the allegation."

The department is also conducting an internal administrative investigation of the allegations, in addition to reviewing overall operations of the vice/narcotic unit.

Fredriksson's wife of two years, Sheryll Cofreros Fredriksson, is a San Leandro Police dispatcher and was named  "Dispatcher of the Year" in 2007. 

She was also placed on administrative leave pending "matters concerning allegations against her," Spagnoli said, though she added the investigation is for administrative purposes and said that police have not found a direct connection to her husband's alleged conduct.

"We believe Officer Fredriksson acted alone in this case," she said.

Spagnoli called the matter "extremely disappointing."

"The San Leandro Police Department will not tolerate and deplores the conduct that has been alleged to have been engaged in by Officer Fredriksson," she said.

Mayor Stephen Cassidy released a statement earlier Friday commending the department for taking immediate action.

"Chief Spagnoli and the Police Department have handled the investigation in a professional manner and reaffirmed that any criminal or unethical behavior by those we entrust to serve and protect our community will not be tolerated," he said.

The San Francisco Chronicle identifies Fredrikkson's attorney as Harry Stern, a member of the Pleasant Hill-based law firm Rains Lucia Stern, which is known for defending police officers.

Stern tells the Chronicle that "The evidence against my client is thin and circumstantial." He added that Fredriksson's relationship with the informant, which is also under investigation, was "unfortunate, nothing more, nothing less."

Patch will as more information becomes available.