Complaint unsealed in case of man beaten by deputies

The beating was caught on surveillance video. It happened in an alley in San Francisco, and raised questions about the use of force by two Alameda County sheriff's deputies.

But now, the alleged victim of the beating, Stanislav Petrov, is himself in legal trouble, yet again. Today, a federal complaint against him was unsealed.

The 12-page complaint accuses 29-year-old Petrov and the woman's he's dating with illegally possessing  a stolen gun and possession for sale of methamphetamine.

The complaint describes Petrov as a convicted felon, career criminal and gang associate with a "pattern of disregard for the law."  

The federal charges stem from a drug bust on March 8 in Visitacion Valley. The FBI and San Francisco police were originally searching the residence in connection with an unrelated cybercrime case, but they said they found Petrov and a woman, Milagro Moraga, naked in bed.

Investigators said they found a Ruger P90 .45-caliber pistol inside a Louis Vuitton messenger bag, as well as baggies containing a 145 grams of methamphetamine and about 4 grams of heroin. They said they also found glass pipes in their room.

Petrov was arrested last Friday after a shooting outside his home. That victim later died. Petrov hasn't been charged in that case.

The complaint says Petrov has five felony convictions, including evading arrest and drug sales. In an affidavit, FBI Special Agent Jenny Feng said Petrov's "continuous disregard for the law and public safety makes him a danger to officers and bystanders."

In a statement, hi sattorney Michael Haddad, who has filed a civil claim against Alameda County said, "Stanislav never claimed to be an angel. But the issue that needs to be addressed is the outrageous, brutal beating that the deputies did to him and then tried to cover up."

Petrov has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. He was back in court Friday with Milagro Moraga, seen here in pictures from her Facebook page. She, too, faces federal drug and gun charges.

In November, Petrov was accused of leading Alameda County sheriff's deputies on a high-speed chase in a stolen Mercedes. The pursuit ended in San Francisco, where two deputies were videotaped beating him in an alley.

The deputies are under investigation. A third has been accused of stealing a gold necklace, money and drugs from Petrov and then handing it over to homeless people as "hush money."

The complaint mentions the chase and says Petrov resisted arrest. It does not mention the deputies' use of force. If Petrov is convicted of the charge of possessing a gun linked to drug trafficking, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.