Former Marysville cop sentenced to 90 days in jail

A former Marysville Police Department officer was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days in jail for directing another officer to conduct a body cavity search of a female drug suspect on a city street as cars drove by.

Saying she could not think of another incident where a suspect has been treated so inhumanely, Yuba County Judge Julia Scrogin ordered Joshua Jon Hendrickson, 32, to report to jail Dec. 1.

Hendrickson, appearing flushed, left the courtroom with his attorney, Christopher Miller, who said he will ask the 3rd District Court of Appeal to stay the sentence.

Stacy Michelle May's status as a parolee with several felony convictions on her record does not justify the way she was treated, Scrogin said.

"I don't care what she is," the judge said. "This never should have occurred."

"You have a fundamental right not to have your pants pulled down at 3:40 in the afternoon on a Saturday" in public, Deputy District Attorney Shiloh Sorbello told the court July 31 when Hendrickson was convicted.

A jury found that Hendrickson directed another officer, Amy Alfred, to put on latex gloves and conduct the search near 10th and Chestnut streets the afternoon of Jan. 26.

No drugs were found on May, who is in a drug rehabilitation program. Alfred's jury trial is scheduled to start Oct. 21.

"I felt at first our judicial system was crooked," May said in a letter to the court. "But, thanks to the District Attorney's Office ... I feel that they care about people and treat our community fair."

Scrogin told Hendrickson that Yuba County Sheriff Steve Durfor has the option of ordering him to serve the 90 days at another jail or in a work furlough program.

Prisoners on work furlough work at an outside job and spend nights in jail.

Miller said his client has been unable to find work after being fired by the Police Department. Hendrickson is a caregiver for his children while his wife works, he said.

No police department will hire an ex-officer convicted of ordering an illegal search, Miller said.

"He's lost his job and his career," Miller said. "He's been more than punished."

Scrogin ordered Hendrickson not to even apply for a job as a police officer or security guard. He will be on informal probation for three years.

In an Aug. 12 interview with Deputy Probation Officer Stephanie Biehle, Hendrickson said he had been punished enough.

"I am not guilty. I asked a fellow officer to do a search; that was it," he was quoted as saying.

Hendrickson said he told Alfred to put on latex gloves because May was having her menstrual period and might have blood on the outside of her clothes. He kept his back turned during the search, according to court testimony.

"He has had experiences in the past where female officers and (suspects) complained" that he had watched, Biehle wrote in the report.

Hendrickson was removed from his job as a training officer after a female officer complained that he had told her to do a similar search.

Asked how he felt about going to jail, Hendrickson responded, "Couldn't fathom that, I don't know."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Rob Young at 749-4710 or at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.