Former Santa Clara sheriff's captain guilty of bribery involving concealed weapon permits
A former captain with the Santa Clara County sheriff's office has been found guilty in connection with a bribery scheme involving concealed weapon (CCW) permits, prosecutors said Wednesday.
According to District Attorney Jeff Rosen's office, a jury convicted 47-year-old James Jensen of felony bribery and conspiracy. Jensen faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison.
"Government services, including the issuance of gun permits, are not for sale in Santa Clara County," Rosen said in a statement. "I'm grateful to the jurors who once again have shown that we are a community that deeply values integrity, fairness, and accountability."
Prosecutors said Jensen was part of a scheme to have security firm AS Security donate $90,000 to an independent committee supporting the re-election of former sheriff Laurie Smith in exchange for CCW permits for their executive protection agents.
In October 2018, the company donated $45,000 via an employee's personal check to the committee. The conspirators were set to donate another $45,000 when the DA's office served a search warrant on the sheriff's office in August 2019, prosecutors said.
According to evidence presented at trial, Jensen negotiated the number of CCW permits to be issued, shepherded the applications and got four applications approved by Smith before the investigation was revealed. Meanwhile, virtually all first-time concealed weapons permit applications by the public in 2018 and 2019 were ignored.
Smith was not charged with a crime in connection with the scheme, prosecutors said. She abruptly resigned in 2022 ahead of a verdict in a public corruption civil trial that would have forced her from office.
The jury acquitted 42-year-old Harpaul Nahal, an attorney that prosecutors said had quoted $90,000 as the amount to be donated for 10-15 CCW licenses.
Rosen's office said with Jensen's conviction, five people have been found guilty as a result of the investigation. Cases linked to the scheme remain pending against Undersheriff Rick Sung, Thomas Moyer, Apple's head of global security, and insurance broker Harpreet Chadha.
Jensen is scheduled to be sentenced on Sep. 9.