San Francisco man sentenced after judge denied dismissal motion over cop’s groin frisk

SAN FRANCISCO — A local resident was sentenced to two years in prison after he tried and failed to get his gun possession case thrown out since an officer discovered it while frisking his groin area, records show.

Ricky Rollins, 39, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm after U.S. District Judge William Alsup upheld San Francisco police Officer Erika Viola’s search of Rollins’ groin during a 2023 search of his home. Police were investigating an attempted murder and found a pistol hidden in Rollins pants, court records show.

“(Viola) did not undress defendant or move beyond his outer clothing until after she felt something that she suspected to be a weapon,” Alsup wrote in his denial motion. “An officer’s frisk of an adult of the opposite sex is not unreasonable.”

Rollins had argued that Viola violated his rights during the search.

Rollins’ co-defendant, George Washington, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the same charge.

Federal prosecutors asked for a 32-month prison sentence, citing Rollins’ criminal history, including alleged involvement in the murder of a woman named Beverly Robinson in 2004. Authorities conceded Rollins wasn’t one of the men who shot Robinson, though.

Rollins was one of five alleged members of the Down Below Gang indicted in the mid-2000s for racketeering, a case which included the murder of Robinson as one of the charges. He ended up pleaded guilty to racketeering and served a 15-year federal prison sentence, prosecutors said in court filings.

In a letter to the court, Rollins said he was taking accountability and wants a chance to prove he will be a “better man, father and son.”

“I have wasted enough time and I don’t want to waste another second,” Rollins wrote. “If giving (sic) the opportunity, I will take the steps needed to rebuild my life the right way.”