Two San Jose police officers are facing charges after allegedly engineering a narcotics evidence swap to cover up a missing bag of drugs, according to reports. Raydarius Surry, 29, and Destiney Thompson, 30, were arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail following an internal investigation that revealed a botched evidence chain of custody.
The Vanishing Contraband and the Unrelated Stop
The sequence began when a bag of suspected narcotics documented by Surry in an arrest report vanished before ever reaching the department’s official evidence locker. Rather than reporting the missing contraband, investigators claim Surry found a replacement during an unrelated pedestrian stop, seizing a similar bag of suspected drugs and subsequently abandoning that specific case.
Accessing Restricted Footage
Surry allegedly submitted the replacement package as the original evidence to mask the disappearance. Meanwhile, Thompson—described as his romantically involved colleague—allegedly assisted the operation by accessing restricted body-camera footage from the original arrest, according to KTVU.
Internal Investigation and Department Tenure
The internal probe into the officers began in August, prompting the San Jose Police Department to place both individuals on paid leave beginning in September. Surry has served eight years with the department, while Thompson has logged six years on the force. Both officers reside in Gilroy.
Chief Paul Joseph Responds to Charges
San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph addressed the gravity of the allegations following the arrests.
Falsifying evidence or police reports is a crime, and our Department moved swiftly to remove both officers from duty and pursue criminal accountability. These allegations, if proven to be true, constitute a failure to live up to the standards our community has a right to expect.
Legal Proceedings Underway in Santa Clara County
Each officer faces one count of tampering with evidence and one count of filing a false police report. The formal allegations remain unproven in a court of law as legal proceedings get underway in Santa Clara County.
