SAN JOSE — A former member of a high-end executive security outfit that protected Silicon Valley icons like Mark Zuckerberg has been sentenced to probation for his role in a pay-to-play gun-permit scandal that led to indictments of top officers in the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and eventually forced the departure of longtime sheriff Laurie Smith. Martin Nielsen, who once helped run the firm AS Solution, was sentenced for misdemeanor crimes related to a hefty donation agreement with sheriff’s brass to secure concealed-carry weapons permits for their security agents. He was prosecutors’ chief witness in securing the the bombshell August 2020 bribery-related indictments of Sheriff’s Capt.
James Jensen, local gun-maker Michael Nichols, and two South Bay attorneys. Jensen was convicted by a jury last month of felony conspiracy and bribery charges based on allegations he served as a key broker between the AS Solution figures and the sheriff’s office. Nichols pleaded guilty last year to one misdemeanor count of conspiracy to solicit a bribe.
At a Tuesday morning hearing in which Nielsen and his attorney appeared via video feed, Judge Eric Geffon sentenced Nielsen to one day in jail, which has already been served, one year of probation and $645 in fines and court fees. Nielsen’s sentence was recommended by Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney John Chase, who runs the office’s Public Integrity Unit and is the lead prosecutor for the criminal indictments.