A federal jury on Friday convicted former Rohnert Park police officer Joseph Huffaker on all six counts tied to a yearslong scheme in which he and other officers illegally stopped drivers on Highway 101 and stole their cannabis and cash — prior to the legalization of recreational cannabis.

As KQED reports, charges included conspiracy, extortion, falsifying records, impersonating a federal officer, and filing a false tax return. Prosecutors said Huffaker and his former sergeant, Brendon “Jacy” Tatum, used fake credentials to pose as federal agents, pulled over vehicles, seized marijuana, and created false paperwork to cover it up. As citizen blog, Redheaded Blackbelt, reports, the scheme operated under the guise of Rohnert Park’s now-defunct drug interdiction team, which was disbanded in 2017 after California legalized recreational cannabis.

As the Press Democrat reports, jurors reached a unanimous verdict after just 90 minutes of deliberation. Huffaker faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for October 15. He remains out of custody.

The case dates back to traffic stops conducted between 2015 and 2018, which Redheaded Blackbelt and KQED have covered extensively, when Huffaker and Tatum unlawfully seized more than two tons of cannabis and trafficked it for profit. Huffaker was tied to a 2017 stop through phone records and testimony from a co-conspirator who said he helped load 100 to 200 pounds of marijuana from the highway and later sold it on the officers’ behalf.

Evidence also showed that Huffaker admitted to the FBI during a proffer interview that he and Tatum conspired to extort marijuana from drivers and expected to profit from the thefts — though he later withdrew from plea negotiations and went to trial.

Tatum, who led the interdiction unit, pleaded guilty in 2021 to related federal charges and testified against Huffaker as part of a cooperation deal. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September. He was placed on the Sonoma County District Attorney’s “Brady list” in 2016 for documented dishonesty. In 2024, he was also cited for operating an illegal indoor cannabis grow on his property while awaiting sentencing.

Huffaker was initially terminated by the city but reached a settlement allowing internal affairs records to remain sealed. Rohnert Park has paid more than $1.8 million to settle civil suits filed by victims of the unlawful stops. One of those victims, Mendocino grower Huedell Freeman, said officers took 47 pounds of cannabis for which he had legal documentation. Another, Texas resident Zeke Flatten, was the first to speak out publicly and helped trigger the federal investigation.

Flatten said he was pulled over by men in green uniforms with no name tags who claimed to be ATF agents. He was later able to identify Huffaker but not the second officer, who remains unnamed. Prosecutors dropped Flatten from the case this spring, but the defense added him back as a witness and alleged he had once worked as a paid FBI informant — something Flatten said was unrelated to this case.

Court records also show that Huffaker and Tatum tried to cover up at least one stop by creating a press release with falsified details using Huffaker’s wife’s computer. The document, meant to account for one seizure, mistakenly described a different incident — highlighting the extent to which records were fabricated and reused.

Despite evidence from multiple sources, including internal police communications and FBI interviews, Huffaker's defense argued he was acting under orders and blamed Tatum and other city officials for orchestrating the thefts. Huffaker cycled through at least seven defense attorneys before trial.

Four other officers who participated in the seizures — Matthew Snodgrass, Nicholas Miller, Chris Snyder, and Chris Medina — were initially listed as prosecution witnesses but now appear on the defense’s list. Most continued working in law enforcement in other departments after the scandal.

“This is not a license to rob, to steal, to kill, to hurt people,” said civil rights attorney Izaak Schwaiger, who represented victims in the case. “This verdict shows that badge or not, you're not above the law.”

Huffaker’s conviction marks one of the most serious police corruption verdicts in recent North Bay history.

Image: /Flickr