Former San Jose police union head Joanne Segovia, who was fired after being arrested on opioid smuggling charges, pleads guilty

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — As part of a deal with federal prosecutors, Joanne Segovia admitted in court Tuesday that she illegally imported more than 17,000 opioid pills into the United States while working as executive director of the San Jose Police Officers’ Association.

In March 2023, the 20-year SJPOA veteran was indicted after a Homeland Security investigation uncovered her role in a drug distribution scheme.

Investigators originally said those drugs contained a fentanyl analogue, but they have since corrected what they said was a testing error.

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On Tuesday, prosecutors said she instead had thousands of tapentadol pills sent to her home and distributed from there, ordered on personal and SJPOA computers.

Segovia faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. She will be back in court in January 2025 to announce her sentence.

Attorney Adam Gasner spoke outside the courthouse after his client pleaded guilty to one count of illegal importation of a controlled substance.

“Ms. Segovia, a victim of her own addiction and in recovery, has now admitted guilt to all charges in the indictment and we are ready to proceed to sentencing,” Gasner said. “This is not a fentanyl case, it never was a fentanyl case. And we are extremely grateful that the U.S. Attorney’s Office resolved the incident.”