Man Beaten By Alameda County Sheriff's Deputies Faces Federal Charges
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A man who was severely beaten by two Alameda County sheriff's deputies in November is due back in U.S. District Court in San Francisco next Monday on federal gun and methamphetamine charges.
The April 18th hearing for Stanislav Petrov, 29, will be either a preliminary hearing on an existing criminal complaint or an arraignment on a grand jury indictment, if an indictment is issued by that date.
Petrov has been in federal custody since the FBI arrested him and Milagro Moraga, 24, at a house in the Visitacion Valley District of San Francisco on April 1.
In the unrelated beating incident last year, two deputies struck Petrov more than 40 times with steel batons on a street in the Mission District of the city at the end of a car chase that began in unincorporated San Leandro on Nov. 12.
A video of the beating has widely circulated online.
Petrov's lawyers, who filed an administrative claim against Alameda County on his behalf last month, say he was hospitalized for 12 days, underwent extensive surgery and suffered permanent damage to his hands.
The federal criminal complaint, issued under seal on April 1 and unsealed at a hearing Friday by U.S. Magistrate Sallie Kim, charges Petrov with three gun offenses and two drug counts.
The two drug charges are possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute it and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Moraga is also charged with those counts.
The three gun charges, which Petrov faces alone, are being an ex-felon in possession of a gun; possession of a gun in relation to drug trafficking; and being an ex-felon in possession of a gun after three previous convictions for serious drug offenses or violent felonies.
In an affidavit filed with the complaint, FBI Agent Jenny Feng alleged that FBI agents and San Francisco police officers searching the house at 23 Teddy Avenue on March 8 found a Ruger pistol, several small bags containing a total of 5 ounces of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in a room in which Petrov and Moraga were found sleeping.
That search was carried out in connection with "a cyber crime investigation unrelated to Petrov and Moraga," Feng wrote.
Petrov and Moraga were briefly detained but not arrested on March 8, and Petrov said he had been "living in and out of the house for over two months," according to Feng.
Feng wrote that Petrov was previously convicted of five felonies and three misdemeanors in state courts.
The felonies were two counts of transporting methamphetamine for sale in San Francisco in 2006 and 2010; two counts of recklessly evading peace officers in San Mateo in 2007; and possessing narcotics for sale in Palo Alto in 2014, for which he is currently on probation.
Petrov's defense attorney, William Osterhoudt, could not be reached for comment.
In an appearance before Kim on Friday, Osterhoudt and Petrov temporarily waived having a detention hearing to determine whether he must remain in custody while awaiting trial, but were told by Kim that they can request a detention hearing in the future.
Kim will preside over the April 18th hearing in Petrov's case.
Petrov's mother, Olga Petrov, said last week that she believes her son is suffering from post-traumatic stress from the November beating and has been "deliberately criminalized" by law enforcement agencies leaking what she believes to be false reports of alleged crimes.
The administrative claim filed by Petrov against Alameda County on March 29 is a precursor to a possible civil lawsuit if the county rejects the claim. The county has 45 days to accept or reject it.
Attorney Michael Haddad said last week that he expects Petrov to go ahead with a lawsuit if the claim is turned down.
