Ex-cops who posed as federal agents to extort marijuana receive up to 30 months in prison

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – Two former California police officers who posed as federal agents to extort marijuana from drivers and then lied to investigators to cover up the crimes were sentenced to a combined 50 months in prison on Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney sentenced former Rohnert Park police officer Brendan Jacy Tatum to 30 months, while his co-defendant and former police officer Joseph Huffaker was sentenced to 20 months.

The case centers on a scheme that prosecutors say began after California voters approved Proposition 64 in 2016, legalizing recreational marijuana and ending a lucrative drug interdiction program that had been a source of pride for the small police department about an hour north of San Francisco.

After the program was shut down, Tatum continued to seize marijuana, but began selling the drug, pocketing the profits and creating false police reports to cover his actions. Huffaker joined the scheme in late 2017.

Officers would drive far outside their jurisdiction in an unmarked vehicle, wearing general tactical gear without badges, and pull over drivers they suspected of carrying large amounts of cannabis. They would then falsely claim to be Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and threaten arrest if drivers refused to hand over their marijuana.

Tatum, 44, pleaded guilty to marijuana extortion and obstruction of justice charges in 2021 in exchange for cooperating with federal investigators. He testified as a cooperating witness during Huffaker’s trial.

Huffaker, 41, was convicted in six points after a one week trial last July. The charges included conspiracy to commit extortion, impersonating a federal officer and falsifying information in a federal investigation.

The government initially sought more than five years in prison for Huffaker, but Chesney ordered his sentence rescheduled until after Tatum.

“My concern is that the government basically got somebody to cooperate down, not up,” said nominee Bill Clinton. “It is undisputed (Tatum) engaged in the conduct alleged here for a considerable time prior to Huffaker.”

On Wednesday, Assistant US Attorney Abe Fine said Tatum was a “corrupt police officer” whose conduct eroded public confidence in law enforcement.

The government asked for a 46-month sentence for Tatum, while the probation office recommended two years. Tatum requested 18 months of home detention along with hours of community service.

Fine said the government’s recommended sentence weighed the seriousness of Tatum’s conduct and the abuse of public trust by his cooperation in the case. He addsed that Tatum assisted in the government’s prosecution, including testifying for three days during the trial and providing information about obstruction of justice of which the government was previously unaware.

“It’s rare for a police officer to cooperate against another police officer. It’s important to encourage that cooperation,” Fine said.

Tatum’s attorney, Stuart Hanlon, told the court that Tatum should benefit from his cooperation with the government against Huffaker, who, Hanlon says, was uncooperative and dragged the case through a lengthy trial.

He also questioned the purpose of jailing Tatum at this point, arguing that Tatum has successfully rehabilitated since the crime, including reconnecting with his family, holding down a job as a firefighter and paying restitution.

But Fine said it sends a bad message “for someone who was a corrupt police officer, stole a lot of dollars and lied to avoid jail time.” He repeated the same general reasoning during Huffaker’s sentencing, adding that the difference between the two was that Huffaker had a “complete lack of responsibility and lack of remorse.”

“When he was charged, he fought the case, every step of the way. When you have a corrupt police officer who lies, takes a case to trial, the perspective can’t be that you don’t get a prison sentence,” Fine said.

The government asked for a 40-month sentence for Huffaker, 23 months less than the sentence they had previously sought. The probation officer recommended that Huffaker receive the same two-year sentence as Tatum, while Huffaker asked the court to serve three years of probation, with one year of home confinement and 500 hours of community service.

Karen Landau, Huffaker’s attorney, disputed the charge that Huffaker had not accepted responsibility for his actions, while pointing out that Huffaker’s involvement in Tatum’s scheme lasted only two weeks.

Chesney acknowledged the positive impact she believed both Tatum and Huffaker had as law enforcement officers and praised them for finding rewarding work in the years that followed. However, she told both defendants that she could not condone their past behavior.

“This is not a mistake; this is a decision to engage in repeated criminal behavior,” she told Tatum.

“One can’t just say ‘well now I’m on the right track.

Tatum apologized when he spoke in court before he was sentenced.

“I am reminded every day of what I caused. I left my community, my profession and my family. I am truly sorry that I made those choices,” he said. “When I pleaded guilty five years ago, I accepted responsibility for my actions. Since then, I have worked every day to live differently.”

Likewise, Huffaker said he was “deeply sorry” for his actions, saying, “I’m going to spend the rest of my life being and doing better … I hope you can see the person I am versus the person I was.”

Tatum will also be required to pay $301,145 in restitution, while Huffaker faces $20,000 in restitution.

Tatum will surrender in January 2027, taking into account California’s wildfire season, while Huffaker will surrender in September.

After the hearing, Hanlon said he did not believe Tatum deserved 30 months in prison and that the judge could have imposed a lesser sentence. Landau declined to comment.

A representative for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Speaking to Courthouse News after the hearings, Hue Freeman, a marijuana farmer who had 47 pounds of marijuana worth $1,500 a pound stolen from Tatum and Huffaker, said he believed Huffaker got off too easy, describing his involvement with Tatum as an “equal partner.”

“While I’m fine with the sentence that Tatum received, especially in light of the fact that he was turned around, I’m really disappointed in Huffaker’s sentence. He never took responsibility,” he said.

Ann-Marie Borges, another marijuana grower who says she was robbed of legal marijuana in 2017 by two law enforcement officers from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and California Fish and Wildlife, said the case against Huffaker and Tatum was the tip of the iceberg.

“They can say these two guys were the reason. And the whole thing is, I would say, a quarter of an inch down on the real story,” she said.

Borges added that she had a strong relationship with law enforcement as a result of the seizures.

“If something happens to me, I have to call the FBI, my agent, and tell them what happened to me. He tells me to call 911; I’m not calling the people who are robbing me,” she said.