Jason Fredriksson, the San Leandro police detective accused of giving more than a pound of marijuana to a female informant with whom he was having an extramarital affair, has resigned. Fredriksson, 38, told San Leandro officials of his decision Friday, said his attorney Harry Stern. “He weighed his overall situation against the idea of litigating the employment aspect of it, and he decided it would be in everybody’s best interest for him to resign,” Stern said.
Fredriksson, a San Leandro officer since 2002 and one of four detectives in the department’s vice/narcotics unit, has admitted to having an affair with a police informant, Stern said. He pleaded not guilty May 20 in a Hayward court to one count of transporting and furnishing marijuana for sale to the woman. “There is no evidence concerning the idea that he provided marijuana to the informant,” Stern said. “Jason took responsibility for having the relationship with the informant. He let down his family, first and foremost, and the department. And it was on that basis that he chose to resign.”
San Leandro Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli declined to comment on the details of Fredriksson’s departure, other than to confirm that Friday was his last day with the department. Authorities do not believe that any other San Leandro police officer is connected to Fredriksson’s case, Spagnoli said Monday. Fredriksson has been under criminal investigation since March 18, when a San Leandro resident told Spagnoli about the detective’s involvement with the informant, police said. On March 23, authorities searched Fredriksson’s Danville home and found items that supported the marijuana-related charge, police said.
Fredriksson declined to provide a statement to investigating detectives, according to court documents. Fredriksson had been on paid administrative leave until he left the department Friday. His wife, Sheryll Fredriksson, a San Leandro police dispatcher who has not been charged, remains on paid administrative leave while the department’s internal investigation of her continues, police said.
Its investigation of Jason Fredriksson has concluded, police said. Jason Fredriksson’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 10 in Hayward. He is the second Fredriksson family member to be arrested this year. His father, John Fredriksson a former inspector at the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office is facing eight counts of child molestation charges in Contra Costa County Superior Court.
San Leandro cop facing marijuana charge resigns,