King City police corruption case expands to breathtaking proportions.

I didn’t think the corruption allegations in the tiny King City Police Department could get any worse.

Already we have one police officer facing allegations he schemed to seize cars from immigrant drivers, swing the majority of the towing and impound business to the department chief’s brother and cut the chief in on the profits when those cars were sold at a fraction of their values. Another officer faces charges of illegally owning and storing an assault weapon, and another faces charges of threatening to physically harm a citizen. Still another officer, along with the ex-chief, are accused of embezzlement after the chief gifted an officer with a car owned by the department’s Youth Explorer Program. A third of the department went to jail in February and now face trials on charges that could send them to prison for years.

But it turns out I was wrong. The allegations could get worse. They can always get worse.

My only questions now, after reading search warrants that had been sealed for months (and released Aug. 8) are these: Why aren’t more charges being filed and more people being arrested?

The latest warrants detail alleged crimes by Sgt. Bobby Carrillo of the towing/impound scheme; a department civilian IT contractor; one “go along, get along” clerk; another officer who hasn’t been charged; and City Manager Michael Powers.

The allegations are complex. I’ll stick to the shockers.

First, King City Officer Abraham Aguayo, who has not been charged, allegedly conspired with Carrillo to kidnap, extort and threaten a victim. One source tells me the allegation likely involves the pair rolling field workers coming home from bars at night and stealing their cash. Carrillo allegedly covered up a domestic violence incident that involved the son of a close friend, taking control of another officer’s investigation, sanitizing reports and possibly destroying a recording of an interview. The suspect was never charged, despite an eyewitness who says he saw the man drag his girlfriend out of a car and throw her on the ground.

In another allegation, a KCPD record clerk says she routinely released vehicles that Carrillo had impounded to people who probably weren’t the legal owners. When she asked for documents to verify ownership, they would tell her, “No, call Carrillo,” the warrant states. When she did, he told her to release the cars as requested. The clerk says she went along with the ongoing scheme out of fear, but she later bought a Ford Explorer that Carrillo had illegally seized.

The rightful owner of that Explorer told investigators she spotted her car around town just weeks after it was taken from her.

In IT world, civilian contractor Kenneth Tippery, a convicted sex offender described as a close associate of Carrillo’s, allegedly arranged for Carrillo to have remote access to the KCPD computer network, a big no-no. Tippery went to great lengths to cover his tracks, shutting off the logs that tracked who was on the network and installing programs to erase evidence of anyone signing in from outside the building. The warrants alleges he offered the same access to one other officer; he and Carrillo used the access to view confidential documents.

It gets even worse – almost comically so – in a second warrant served in May on Powers, the city manager. Investigators claim he rigged KCPD phones to function as two-way mics. If a meeting was going on in Police Chief Dennis Hegwood’s office, for example, Powers could trigger the remote mic and surreptitiously listen in. Hegwood suspected something was up when Powers questioned him about a meeting that should have been confidential.

Powers, whose employment was discussed at City Council Aug. 12, released a letter refuting those allegations. “I have never intentionally tried to listen in on the phone or any other devices,” he wrote. “I contacted our telephone service provider… who [sic] informed me that our phone system isn’t capable of doing what was alleged.”

As for why no new charges have been filed, Deputy District Attorney Steve Somers says there are no immediate plans for arrests. Focus on the word “immediate.” It’s important.

Additional reporting by Sara Rubin.

MARY DUAN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at mary@mcweekly.com