The lady who ran the San Jose Police Officers Affiliation pleaded not responsible Friday to a number of counts of smuggling fentanyl, in response to the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace.
Joanne Segovia allegedly ordered various substances that can be utilized to make fentanyl from suppliers all over the world. She disguised the medication as wedding ceremony presents and toys, authorities stated, and openly had them despatched to the San Jose police union workplace the place she labored on behalf of town’s roughly 1,700 officers.
Segovia, who was the affiliation’s govt director, was ordered to return again to courtroom in a month—she was not taken into custody. Her legal professional Will Edelman couldn’t be reached for remark.
Segovia’s fentanyl smuggling case has induced an uproar on-line given her tight reference to legislation enforcement. The San Jose Police Union has a social media presence the place it cites the risks of the deadly drug.
“Fentanyl is a severe menace to our neighborhood,” started a 2020 tweet from the affiliation’s account.
Whereas Segovia labored for 20 years for the affiliation, town’s police chief identified in an announcement that she was not a police officer.
Years of Alleged Smuggling
Homeland Safety investigators stated they found Segovia’s exercise late final 12 months in the middle of an investigation into shipments of unlawful medication from India to the Bay Space. Segovia had 60 parcels shipped to her residence between 2015 and 2023, in response to the prison grievance.
Segovia allegedly used WhatsApp to deal with logistics, exchanging messages with somebody utilizing a cellphone with India’s nation code. The messages continued into this month, even after federal investigators interviewed Segovia in February.
On March 13, federal brokers in Kentucky seized a bundle that contained fentanyl addressed to Segovia. The grievance stated that packages of tramadol addressed to her had been seized by federal border authorities way back to 2019
Whereas a lot of the shipments had been despatched from her residence, in response to authorities, one piece of proof referenced within the submitting features a transport label with the handle of the union she labored for.
Extra particulars in the grievance seem to disclose that she was both unaware of the problems surrounding her hyperlink to the union or didn’t care.
In a single trade in June 2021 along with her alleged provider, she apologized for not making a cargo. “I’m so sorry, I’m on a enterprise journey as a result of we had 2 officers that acquired shot! I ought to be residence tomorrow evening so I’ll get them shipped as quickly as I can.”
In one other iPhone e-mail trade with a provider, her signature line learn: Government Director of the San Jose Police Officers Affiliation.
In two separate interviews with investigators this 12 months she lied, claiming that she had solely ordered dietary supplements and that she labored for the police division slightly than the union, authorities stated.
When requested about ordering artificial opioids on-line, she stated “I wouldn’t even know the place to start out.”
Segovia finally tried to inform federal investigators that her housekeeper—who was additionally a household buddy— was responsible, saying that all of a sudden a “gentle bulb” went off and she or he realized, “all of it results in her.”
Segovia even stated the lady impersonated her on WhatsApp, claiming the housekeeper was ready to take action as a result of she “is aware of a lot about me.”
Nonetheless, Segovia expressed some regret when she stated that she didn’t wish to “throw [this woman] to the wolves,” however slightly that she simply needed to be sincere.
Police Connections
Whereas the affiliation has shortly been distancing itself from Segovia—characterizing her in a cellphone name with The Normal Thursday as extra of a “grandmother” who helped run the workplace and earlier than later eradicating her bio from their web site—the union’s web site and tax filings make it clear that she was a part of the inside circle working the group.
Segovia, who’s married with kids and lives in San Jose, has labored for the union since 2003, in response to its now scrubbed web site.
As govt director, she made $161,360 and oversaw a company with a finances of $2.3 million and property value $1.3 million, in response to the group’s 2020 tax filings.
Except for managing their monetary and administrative wants, Segovia oversaw the affiliation’s charitable basis. She additionally managed funerals for police who died on responsibility and helped their households afterward.
Segovia, a licensed Notary Public, in response to her bio, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Jonah Owen Lamb might be reached at