Ex-Cop Found Guilty of Visiting Jail

A jury found a former Long Beach police officer from Murrieta guilty Thursday of violating the law when, as a convicted felon, he went to visit a friend in jail.

Matthew John Gjersvold, 45, faces a maximum of four years incarceration for the offense— which includes a count of committing a felony within five years of serving time—according to John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

Authorities, who had already been looking for Gjersvold because he was allegedly in possession of stolen Long Beach police gear, were tipped off to his Murrieta address when he  signed in Feb. 2 as a visitor at Larry D. Smith Correctional Center in Banning.

Murrieta police assisted Long Beach police by arresting Gjersvold Feb. 15 at his Jackson Avenue apartment, Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad previously told Patch.

Gjersvold faces separate charges of possession of stolen property as a result of that arrest, court records show.

"Essentially we investigated a possession of stolen property arrest against Mr. Gjersvold," Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad wrote in a previous email to Patch. "Our search warrant and investigation revealed Mr. Gjersvold had in his possession a Long Beach PD ID card and Long Beach police badge. Those items have been recovered and are in our possession as evidence in the case."

Gjersvold was dismissed from the Long Beach Police Department in November 2008, according to news reports. He was arrested in March 2010 after the department received a complaint of vandalism and started an investigation.

In December 2010, Gjersvold was convicted of possession of an assault weapon and possession of a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to three years in state prison, but released in October 2012, records show.

News reports also indicated Gjersvold was convicted of DUI in 2009.

The ex-officer remains jailed at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

A sentencing date has been set for June 21 in the case decided Thursday by jurors.