UPDATE: No remark from San Jose police union @ProtectSanJose exec director Joanne Segovia to @JesseKTVU after showing in fed court docket, charged by @USAO_NDCA in synthetic-opioid distribution case pic.twitter.com/caip3909Y2
— Henry Ok. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) March 31, 2023
Jason Inexperienced and Scooty Nickerson
The Mercury Information
A longtime workplace supervisor for the San Jose Police Officers Affiliation allegedly used her work laptop to order managed substances from overseas, together with an analog model of fentanyl, and distributed the medication from her workplace, in keeping with a federal felony criticism.
Joanne Marian Segovia, govt director of the SJPOA since 2003, is charged with making an attempt to unlawfully import valeryl fentanyl, an artificial opioid. If convicted, she faces as much as 20 years in jail.
Filed in U.S. District Court docket on Monday, the 13-page criticism contends that Segovia, 64, was arrested as a part of an ongoing Homeland Safety investigation right into a community that was delivery managed substances to the Bay Space from overseas.
No less than 61 packages had been delivered to Segovia’s residence in San Jose between October 2015 and January 2023, in keeping with the criticism. Manifests for the packages – which had been despatched from international locations together with India, China and Canada – reportedly listed their contents as “wedding ceremony occasion favors,” “shirts tops,” “reward make-up,” “chocolate and sweets,” “meals complement,” “well being product” and “complement.”
The criticism contends that authorities opened 5 of the packages between July 2019 and January 2023 and located that they really contained hundreds of {dollars}’ value of managed substances, together with the artificial opioids tramadol and tapentadol.
Segovia allegedly used her work laptop and workplace to order and distribute the medication, in keeping with the criticism. In a single case, she was instructed by a provider to ship a package deal to an individual in North Carolina, after which she despatched the provider a photograph of the cargo being made utilizing the police union’s UPS account, the criticism contends.
Segovia can also be accused of utilizing WhatsApp to plan the delivery and receiving of the substances. Between January 2020 and March 2023, she exchanged a whole bunch of messages with somebody utilizing a telephone with an India nation code; the messages mentioned delivery and cost particulars and contained images of tablets, delivery labels, packaging, receipts and cost affirmation, in keeping with the criticism.
In a single message despatched on Might 2, 2022, Segovia reportedly wrote, “im so sorry, im on a enterprise journey as a result of we had 2 officers that received shot! I must be residence tomorrow night time so sick get them shipped as quickly as I can.”
SJPOA spokesperson Tom Saggau mentioned that the affiliation positioned Segovia on go away and launched an investigation into her conduct final Friday after federal officers stopped by and searched her workplace. At first, Saggau mentioned, he was shocked to study concerning the allegations swirling round Segovia, who he has generally known as a beloved determine within the workplace for greater than 20 years.
“She was checked out because the grandma of the POA,” he mentioned. “She’s the one who deliberate all of the funerals after we had officers killed within the line of responsibility … On many events, officers would have kids who can be recognized with most cancers or had been harm she was the one who put the fundraiser collectively … This actually caught everybody off guard.”
However as time handed and media have jumped to cowl the accusations in opposition to Saggau, a brand new emotion has supplanted Saggau’s preliminary shock — anger. “It’s sort of turned in the direction of anger somewhat bit,” he mentioned. “Anger that this deception was happening. Indignant at exposing our group to this sort of ridicule or scrutiny.”
Homeland Safety brokers interviewed Segovia in February, however she continued to order managed substances, the criticism contends. On March 13, authorities seized a package deal addressed to her that contained valeryl fentanyl – it had been shipped from China and its contents had been labeled as “clock,” in keeping with the criticism.
A search warrant was served at Segovia’s residence and the SJPOA workplace on March 24. The criticism contends that 283 tapentadol capsules had been seized on the police union headquarters.
Saggau mentioned that the union is constant to research Segovia, however that no different workers are believed to have aided her alleged misconduct.
“Nobody on the POA is concerned or had prior information of the alleged acts,” Saggau mentioned. “The Board of Administrators is saddened and upset at listening to this information and now we have pledged to supply our full help to the investigative authorities.”
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