Jason Duncan Deason, a former Canby police officer faces eight charges of official misconduct and one charge for unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

The criminal charges resulted to a yearlong investigation conducted by FBI.

Deason is accused of purchasing steroids while on duty and while in uniform from a businessman named William Traverso. He even used his police motorcycle to travel from Canby to Jackson in Oregon City to buy anabolic steroids.

Traverso, according to FBI, was a former bodybuilder whose family owns the Canby Landscape Supply. Upon investigation, he admitted to selling anabolic steroids and human growth hormone to Deason. He also presented an order for steroids written by Deason on a piece of Canby police stationery, dated April 30, 2002.

Aside from Traverso, a second alleged supplier was charged with manufacture and delivery of controlled substances. Brian Jackson was a former strength and conditioning coach for the Oregon City High School girl’s basketball team.

Since the state prosecutors and the defendant could not agree into a plea bargain, a Clackamas County Circuit judge scheduled a trial on November 10, 2009 for his charges.

He is also restricted fro going out of the country pending trial. However, he was allowed to go to California and Washington for several job interviews.

From Oregon Local News:

Unable to agree to a plea deal, former Canby cop Jason Duncan Deason is set to go to trial in November on official misconduct and drug charges.

A Clackamas County Circuit judge this afternoon set Nov. 10 as his trial date.

Ex Canby Chief Greg Kroeplin thought he could go scot-free by resigning from his post while one of his officers was being investigated because of his involvement with steroids. But as investigators probe deeper into the case, they discover that the chief is short of being an accomplice and encouraging Jason Deason to continue his misdemeanor due to his lack of action over the matter.

Deason who has been under surveillance for about 18 months had actually lived with Kroeplin before the latter became appointed police chief. It is far from improbable that Kroeplin knew that Deason had been using steroids the whole time that they had been under one roof.

The Canby City Council had sent memo to Kroeplin’s office informing him that they were going to fire Deason. Perhaps to avoid being implicated into the case, he tries to remove himself from the scene by resigning.

From Oregon News:

An investigation by two retired Oregon law enforcement officers revealed a department where officers trying to conduct any meaningful inquiry of Deason’s steroid abuse were thwarted by two chiefs, and the city administrator overseeing the department took the chiefs’ word without strong oversight.

“I rely upon the people who report back to me to be truthful. I trust them unless I have reason not to,” City Administrator Mark Adcock said Thursday. “If there are lessons to learn here, sometimes you can’t trust people as much as you would like to that they’re going to make the right decision.”

Kroeplin’s attorney, Victor Calzaretta, declined comment.

Deason had a history of violence and suicidal tendencies which the authorities of the city agree on to be a threat to the public’s safety if he continued to be on duty. His psychotic tendencies was not beyond Kroeplin’s knowledge and the chief should have taken necessary actions to look into Deason’s case.

Kroeplin himself has questionable credibility because reports reveal that he had several lapses in judgment, lacked professionalism and allegedly committed child abuse in 2003.

After a year of investigations, Canby police finally arrested one of the steroid suppliers of a Canby police officer. Last November 17, Chief Greg Kroeplin was suspended after he was found to conceal that his former roommate, Jason Deason, also a then-Canby police officer, was involved in steroid use. Further investigations led to businessman William Jake Traverso who allegedly supplied Deason with anabolic steroids.

From Oregon News:

Federal authorities identified Traverso, a former competitive bodybuilder who works at Canby Landscape Supply, as one of Deason’s suppliers. Traverso admitted selling steroids and human growth hormone, or HGH, to Deason. In fact, Traverso turned over to federal agents an April 30, 2002 order for steroids that Deason had given him, written on Canby police stationery, according to federal court records.

Neighbors of Traverso, who lives in a home on Canby’s North Vine Street, had grown frustrated by suspicious drug activity at Traverso’s home, and complained to Canby’s mayor and council about a lack of Canby police response to their multiple complaints.

According to affidavits filed in the U.S. District Court, Deason coached Traverso on what to tell the police if he ever would be questioned about steroids back in 2001. This was during the time Deason was being investigated for his alleged steroid abuse.

Federal agents raided Traverso’s workplace at Yamhill County. They seized various stolen goods, two firearms and several details about Deason including his name, work phone and cell phone number. Traverso was arrested this week and is charged of illegal possession and distribution of controlled substance and first-degree theft. Traverso was given a bail of $75,000.