2 ex-Orange County police officers accused of kidnapping woman while bounty hunting

NOTE: This story was first published June 21, 2022, and updated July 11, 2022, when state officials released new information.

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Two former police officers in Orange County who authorities say were working as bounty hunters have been indicted on felony charges including kidnapping and false imprisonment.

Rodger Jeffrey Corbett, 49, of Corona, and Kevin Andrew Pedersen, 34, of Fullerton, came under scrutiny from the California Department of Insurance and the Orange County District Attorney's Office after a video was published on social media capturing the two attempting to locate a person said to have missed a court appearance, according to an insurance department news release. Corbett and Pedersen were indicted by the Orange County Grand Jury this month.

In the video, the two were misidentified as undercover police officers. The Department of Insurance reported in June that its investigators found that the two had not completed the courses required to be certified to do bounty hunter work in the state. The department, however, issued a correction on July 8, saying that it has since learned the two "completed legally required educational training" to be bounty hunters. The department said the corrected information "does not alter the criminal charges brought against the defendants."

The department licenses bail agents but does not do so for bounty hunters. To do bounty hunting work, a person must complete a series of trainings and can't have a felony criminal record. The California State Legislature is currently considering requiring bounty hunter licenses after The Desert Sun reported on the fatal shooting of a Palm Springs man last year by a convicted felon illegally working as a bounty hunter.

In October 2020, Corbett and Pedersen allegedly kidnapped and handcuffed the girlfriend of a person they were attempting to locate, according to the release, driving her around for several hours. At the time, they were armed. A spokesperson for the Department of Insurance said it is investigating how the two were hired for the job but declined to release what bail agents the two may have been working for.

Marlin Stapleton Jr., Corbett's attorney, said the two were working for Bail Hotline Bail Bonds, an agency headquartered in Riverside.

Stapleton said that his client is "totally innocent" and was working to apprehend a "violent fugitive" who had been evading capture for about a week.

"This case is ridiculous, these guys were the good guys," Stapleton said.

Dig deeper: Bail agents were charged with felonies and kept working. Now they're being investigated

Corbett separated from the Fullerton Police Department in 2018 after he was criminally charged for allegedly falsifying a police report related to a DUI investigation of then-City Manager Joe Felz. Corbett agreed to enter a pretrial diversion program requiring he complete community service, pay $500 in restitution and no longer work in law enforcement, according to reporting by the Orange County Register. Felz later retired from the city manager job.

Pedersen was involved in the on-duty fatal shooting of Eliuth Penaloza Nava, 50, in Anaheim in 2018. Video of the shooting later released by the Orange County District Attorney's Office shows Pedersen firing repeatedly through his windshield during a pursuit in a residential neighborhood. Anaheim police Sgt. Jacob Gallacher said Pedersen was terminated in 2018.

The DA's Office declined to criminally charge Pedersen while maintaining he "did not act in reasonable and justifiable self-defense or defense of another when they shot at Nava."

Pedersen's attorney did not immediately return The Desert Sun's request for comment on the case.

There is no public record that either Corbett or Pedersen have been arrested. The two are due to be arraigned in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana on June 29, according to the insurance department.

Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Ex-Orange County cops working as bounty hunters indicted for kidnapping