SUNNYVALE (KRON) — A traffic stop in Sunnyvale on July 7 turned out to be anything but routine.
When 47-year-old Daniel Ochoa was pulled over by an officer for a vehicle code violation, it happened just a stone’s throw away from the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety at the intersection of West El Camino Real and Hollenbeck Avenue.
Ochoa was eventually arrested for selling drugs.
When the DPS served search warrants on Ochoa, who lives in Santa Clara, investigators then learned of a connection between the suspect and 48-year-old San Jose Police Officer John Tompkins.
Sunnyvale Captain Jim Choi said he was not in the car at the time.
“The information that we have at this time doesn’t show that they were neighbors,” Choi said. “However, specific details into their relationship is not being disclosed at this time. This investigation is still on-going, and for that reason I can’t disclose specifics.”
On Friday morning, Tompkins was arrested on two felony charges of possession of narcotics with firearms and two misdemeanor charges of possession of drugs.
He was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.
This after, investigators served search warrants on Tompkins’ Sunnyvale home where drugs and weapons were found.
“This is very rare,” Choi said. “99.9% of the time, officers throughout this country — throughout this county — and you know, our agency and San Jose, they’re going above and beyond the call of duty, doing the right thing, protecting the people and serving their communities.”
The San Jose Police Department confirmed Tompkins is on paid administrative leave at the moment, adding that the agency is conducting its own internal investigation into the case.
The San Jose Police Department also assisted in Tompkins’ arrest.