Ex-San Leandro cop pleads no contest in pot case

A former San Leandro police detective accused in a scandal involving a confidential informant avoided possible jail time by pleading no contest to a misdemeanor count of possessing more than an ounce of marijuana.

Jason Fredriksson, 29, had been charged with transporting and furnishing marijuana for sale, a felony, for allegedly giving more than a pound of the drug to the informant - a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair.

Police and prosecutors never said where they thought Fredriksson got the marijuana.

Under the terms of a plea deal Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court, Judge Roy Hashimoto sentenced Fredriksson to 30 days in a county work program and five years of probation. He must also pay for the investigation into his actions, and is barred forever from police work.

Fredriksson, who had been free on bail, quit the department in July. His attorney said the resignation had nothing to do with the marijuana charges, which he said were unsubstantiated, but that Fredriksson wanted to take responsibility for the inappropriate relationship.