Ex-Davis police sergeant and Yolo County narcotics investigator accused of embezzling
A former Davis police sergeant and a supervisor on a Yolo County drug enforcement team is accused of embezzlement after members of his narcotics investigation unit suspected misconduct.
Trevor Anthony Edens has been charged with one felony count of misappropriations of public funds, according to a criminal complaint filed July 23 by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office. The charge alleges that from Aug. 1 to Nov. 1, 2018, Edens — a public officer tasked with receiving, safekeeping, transferring and distributing public money — instead used that money for personal matters and other reasons.
Davis Deputy Police Chief Paul Doroshov said Wednesday that officers working under Edens on the countywide drug enforcement team “stepped up immediately” and informed authorities about their suspicions of misconducts. Doroshov said these officers “were not going to tolerate it.”
At the time the allegations surfaced, Edens was a supervisor of the then Yolo County Narcotics Enforcement Team, Doroshov said. He declined to say what Edens is accused of embezzling or how much money was taken. He said that information will be revealed during the course of the prosecution.
Doroshov said the Police Department conducted an internal affairs investigation before handing over that information to Yolo County prosecutors to decide whether to prosecute. He said Eden resigned from the department June 7, 2019, more than a year before prosecutors would formally charge him.
The Solano County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting Edens in Yolo Superior Court. Because Edens is a former Davis police sergeant and supervisor with the countywide enforcement team, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office did not want the public to perceive there was a conflict.
Yolo County prosecutors investigated the allegations against Edens, at the request of the Davis Police Department, said Yolo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven.
After the investigation, the DA’s Office handed over the case to Solano County prosecutors to review and determine whether there was enough evidence for them to charge and prosecute Edens, Raven said.
Even though the criminal complaint was filed two months ago, Edens is scheduled to make his first court appearance Oct. 14 in Yolo County for his arraignment. Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Edens was placed on administrative leave after the allegations were made, The Davis Enterprise reported Tuesday.
Pytel says Edens, 46, has not yet been arrested, but the former police sergeant is required to surrender for booking at the Yolo County Jail before his court appearance next month, the Enterprise reported.
Edens joined the Police Department in September 2002 and was in a 2007 off-duty Roseville motorcycle crash that resulted in the amputation of his left lower-leg, the Davis newspaper reported. He returned to work six months later and receive the department’s 2009 Officer of the Year award.
Last year, the Yolo County Narcotics Enforcement Team that Edens once belonged to became a countywide major crimes task force. The task force focused less on drug crimes as state laws approved by the voters reduced drug possession felonies to misdemeanors and legalized adult marijuana use, the Davis Enterprise reported in October 2019.
