A former Long Beach Police Officer has been charged with three felony weapons violations, including possession of assault weapons, and is being held at the Men's Central Jail in lieu of $3 million bail.
Matthew Gjersvold, 42, of Cypress appeared at the Long Beach Superior Court Monday morning for a preliminary hearing setting, which was tentatively scheduled for late June, according to court staff.
Gjersvold was arrested by the Long Beach Police Department on March 1 after the department received a complaint of vandalism, said Nancy Pratt, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.
"While these turn of events are regrettable, nobody is above the law," Pratt said of the former officer's arrest and subsequent felony charge.
His arrest did not stem from any incident connected to his time with the LBPD, Pratt said.
He last worked as an LBPD officer in November of 2008, she added.
Gjersvold was initially booked on $40,000 bail and, after posting bond, appeared out of custody at the Long Beach Superior Court on March 12 for his arraignment, Pratt said.
"Additional information came forward at court and he was charged with (the weapons violations) and remanded to custody," Pratt said.
His bail was also hiked to $3 million, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Inmate Information Center.
The police department declined to release details about the initial incident that resulted in the complaint and arrest, deferring those questions to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
DA Spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons confirmed Monday that Gjersvold was charged with three felony counts, one count of possession of a deadly weapon and two counts of possession of assault weapons.
Gibbons could not access court files to determine what incident the charge stemmed from. The filing DA was out of the office Monday and not expected to return until April 5.
Upon Gjersvold's initial arrest, he was booked into the Signal Hill Jail due to his status as a former Long Beach Police officer and because he has family that works for the LBPD, Pratt said.
At the time of his second arrest he was taken into custody by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at the Long Beach Courthouse, and remains in Sheriff's Custody, court staff said Monday.
He is due back at the Long Beach Superior Court on June 29.
Matthew Gjersvold, 42, of Cypress appeared at the Long Beach Superior Court Monday morning for a preliminary hearing setting, which was tentatively scheduled for late June, according to court staff.
Gjersvold was arrested by the Long Beach Police Department on March 1 after the department received a complaint of vandalism, said Nancy Pratt, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman.
"While these turn of events are regrettable, nobody is above the law," Pratt said of the former officer's arrest and subsequent felony charge.
His arrest did not stem from any incident connected to his time with the LBPD, Pratt said.
He last worked as an LBPD officer in November of 2008, she added.
Gjersvold was initially booked on $40,000 bail and, after posting bond, appeared out of custody at the Long Beach Superior Court on March 12 for his arraignment, Pratt said.
"Additional information came forward at court and he was charged with (the weapons violations) and remanded to custody," Pratt said.
His bail was also hiked to $3 million, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Inmate Information Center.
The police department declined to release details about the initial incident that resulted in the complaint and arrest, deferring those questions to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
DA Spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons confirmed Monday that Gjersvold was charged with three felony counts, one count of possession of a deadly weapon and two counts of possession of assault weapons.
Gibbons could not access court files to determine what incident the charge stemmed from. The filing DA was out of the office Monday and not expected to return until April 5.
Upon Gjersvold's initial arrest, he was booked into the Signal Hill Jail due to his status as a former Long Beach Police officer and because he has family that works for the LBPD, Pratt said.
At the time of his second arrest he was taken into custody by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at the Long Beach Courthouse, and remains in Sheriff's Custody, court staff said Monday.
He is due back at the Long Beach Superior Court on June 29.
I wonder if they were state or federal weapons charges that hiked the bail to 3 million
Uh-Oh.....
At this point they're all state, but I suppose that could change. And yeah, $3 million is very high.
Why the secrecy? Case is not being handled by the book.