Court records indicate that former Fresno Police Officer Derik Kumagai was being investigated for violating multiple laws and has pled guilty to conspiracy in federal court. Kumagai served on the Fresno Police Department for 14 years and was most recently a detective in the Vice and Intelligence Unit. The conspiracy charges involve bribery. Kumagai allegedly was providing special protection and assistance to drug dealers and taking advantage of his position for their benefit.
Kumagai's attorney appears in an ABC News report saying, " 'This is one of those situations where he committed the crime, and he's accepting his responsibility for it, and he will be sentenced for what he did.' " The prosecutors clearly had enough evidence to make fighting the charges an unrealistic task. He could face up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine as a result of the plea bargain. Had he challenged all of the charges against him, he may have faced decades in prison. Kumagai will be sentenced in May but will likely not serve the entire sentence. Regardless of the other punishments he receives, he will never work in law enforcement again.