April 9, 2026

Sgt. Trent Tunstall #1178
Professional Standards Unit
Huntington Beach Police Department
2000 Main Street
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
[email protected]

RE: Your Letter of April 7, 2026 ? File AI 26-0003 ? Notice of Admission, Procedural Challenge, and Escalation

Sergeant Tunstall:

I am in receipt of your letter of April 7, 2026. I write to acknowledge it, to place you on formal notice of its legal significance, and to document the procedural basis for continued multi-agency escalation.

1. The Admission in Your Letter.

Your letter states: "The allegations have been reviewed by our agency and the Orange County District Attorney's Office." This sentence is now a formal written admission ? on Huntington Beach Police Department letterhead, authored by the certifying officer of IA File AI 26-0003 ? that the Orange County District Attorney's Office reviewed this matter. The DA's March 2026 response declined on jurisdictional grounds, not on the merits. Your written confirmation of that coordination is now incorporated as Exhibit HBPD-001 in all pending federal submissions including those before the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, the California Department of Justice Professional Investigations Unit, and the Orange County Grand Jury.

2. The Procedural Defects That Preceded Your "Unfounded" Finding.

Your letter states that operational decisions are based on "the facts presented" and "established protocols that ensure accountability." The documented record contradicts this representation. When a 162-page Bates-referenced evidence package documenting federal criminal violations was physically delivered to HBPD on July 3, 2025, no case number was assigned, no victim interview was conducted, no evidence log was created, and no chain-of-custody receipt was issued. These are not matters of interpretation ? they are documented absences. The "Unfounded" finding you certified on February 18, 2026 was issued against a procedural record that itself constitutes the basis of the complaint. An investigation cannot be deemed complete when the predicate steps of a standard criminal complaint intake were never performed.

3. The Structural Conflict in the Review.

You certified the "Unfounded" IA disposition on February 18, 2026. You authored the final closure letter on April 7, 2026. You are the same officer in both roles. This is not independent review. Under California Government Code ?3304 and applicable Pitchess motion standards, the basis for any "Unfounded" finding must be documentable. The absence of a case number, victim interview, evidence log, and chain-of-custody receipt means that basis does not exist in the record.

4. This Matter Is Not Closed as to Other Agencies.

HBPD's declination does not bind the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, the California DOJ Professional Investigations Unit, the Orange County Grand Jury, the California Attorney General's Office under Government Code ?12560, or any federal agency with independent jurisdiction. This letter, along with the full documented procedural record, has been submitted to each of those agencies and will be updated to include your April 7, 2026 correspondence.

I do not seek further response from HBPD. This letter is for the record.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Gasio
Plaintiff Pro Se
Gasio v. Tran et al., No. 30-2024-01410991-CL-UD-CJC
[email protected]
gasiomirror.com

CC:
FBI Los Angeles Field Office ? Special Agent H. Nguyen ([email protected])
California DOJ Professional Investigations Unit ([email protected])
Orange County District Attorney's Office ([email protected])
Orange County Grand Jury
California Attorney General's Office ? Law Enforcement Oversight
Chief Eric G. Parra, HBPD
Assistant Chief Oscar Garcia, HBPD ([email protected])
DRE ? Tom Nguyen ([email protected])
Helder Pinheiro ? Witness
Andrew Elkins ? Witness