The former chief operating officer of a nonprofit that contracted with San Diego County to distribute the anti-overdose medication Narcan has been charged with embezzling funds from the organization.

Amy Knox, ex-COO of Harm Reduction Coalition of San Diego, is accused of taking over $130,000 in public funds to pay for personal expenses such as plastic surgery procedures, trips to Hawaii and Disneyland, and payments for her SDG&E and credit card bills.

According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the funds she’s accused of taking were part of over $4 million awarded to the nonprofit for its efforts to prevent and reduce fentanyl deaths within San Diego County.

Knox, 45, “controlled the nonprofit’s finances and was designated as the contract administrator for the county contracts,” the D.A.’s Office said.

She faces up to seven years in state prison if convicted of charges that include felony counts of misappropriating public funds and embezzlement.

Knox was arrested last week and after pleading not guilty to the charges on Wednesday, she remains in custody on $200,000 bail, pending a bail review hearing set for next week.

In a news conference announcing the charges, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said Knox was previously charged in San Diego County with taking over $500,000 from a prior employer. Court records show she pleaded guilty to felony grand theft charges in that case and was sentenced to prison in 2015.

Despite her criminal history, Stephan said Knox was able to attain her position in the organization without a background check.

After concerns were raised by county staff, a background check was ultimately conducted and revealed the conviction, yet around a year later, the nonprofit was awarded another contract from the county in August of 2024, Stephan said.

Stephan said Wednesday that it was “deeply concerning that the checks and balances that are supposed to safeguard the county’s large budget and trust funds failed in this case.”

Harm Reduction Coalition’s CEO, Tara Stamos-Buesig, reported suspicions regarding Knox to the District Attorney’s Office last May, Stephan said. The county canceled its contracts for Narcan distribution and drug testing with the nonprofit the following month.

Stephan said that after the contracts were terminated, there was no referrals to the D.A.’s Office for potential criminal investigation, as had been done in previous instances of suspected fraud or wrongdoing by public officials.

County officials did not respond to a request for comment regarding Stephan’s assertions.

Stephan said an investigation remained ongoing into “aspects in the county as to why and how this happened,” as well as whether anyone else was involved in the fraud.

She also alleged there has “been an effort to remove checks and balances when it comes to contracts” and that employees have recently left the county “with agreements to be silent.”

The D.A.’s Office urged any county employees with information of suspected malfeasance to report concerns to prosecutors and said that anyone making reports would be protected under whistleblower laws.

Stephan said in a statement, “Whistleblowing is an important part of public safety. It is often the first line of defense against corruption and misuse of public funds.”

“Coop” Gary Albert Cooprider

OBITUARY

As a young man he met the love of his life on a Great Falls, MT, blind date with a twist: he was supposed to meet someone else, but Patti stepped in for her friend who had the flu. That one moment set the course of their future. He soon proposed to Patti over the phone while she was modeling in New York City. Patti fell for the handsome, successful Montana KQDI radio DJ and said YES to his grand plans for their lives. This valentine, February 14th 2026, they would have celebrated their 67th anniversary.

“Coop”, as you know him, lived an extraordinary 89 years; ingenious and full of creativity, broad interest in the arts, civically engaged, well-traveled, and with his unique charm, he made an impression on those who met him.

Early in Coop’s life, his parents Jessie and George ‘Al’ Albert, moved the family back from northern California to Spokane, WA. Coop was the big brother to Christina (Jun 2001), Sandy (Wenatchee, WA), and Douglas ( c. early 1940s). He applied his self-learning and tenacity, which spanned from his time as a paper-delivery-boy with his Radio Flyer wagon to a job creating artful signs and billboards, and eventually the move to Great Falls where as a radio DJ he shared his passion for music. He mingled with and interviewed musicians like Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald, and many more. Music was integral to his life.

In 1964, with only four children in tow, Coop and Patti (Patricia Darlene Keister; Jan 2021) made a bold decision – they packed up and moved to Germany to start Prudential’s first branch in Europe, where Coop simultaneously pursued his love of singing (stage name: Buddy Ashton), socialized with and helped coordinate USO and other shows of U.S. performers, such as Charley Pride, when they came to tour in Europe.

To best support their growing family in Germany, Coop ultimately chose to focus on his financial planning business. Together, Patti and Coop raised seven children; in succession: Kyle (Nov 2023), Tayna (Nakata), Kamila, Kendra (Paul), Gabrielle (Sillas), Molli, and Shannon (Slayer); each proud to look to their dad as a role model.

For nearly three decades, Coop supported U.S. service members and families living overseas, helped them create financial stability and protect their futures. He built an agency that provided substantial civilian employment while serving U.S. military personnel across Europe.

He believed in preparation, responsibility, and providing support to those you love. Coop’s kids often heard his mantra “grow independent together”.

With foresight and joie de vivre Coop and Patti filled their kids’ childhood with culture, education (in part at German schools), travel and adventure (through much of Europe, across U.S., North Africa, etc); created memories that shaped their lives.

Global travel as a couple included Russia, China, and South Africa among others, exploring the world to feed their diverse and lifelong interests.

In 1991 Coop and Patti moved to sunny San Diego, as The Winning Team, they led an active and interactive social life. A friend from the art community expressed losing them as ‘it feels like the end of an important era in San Diego’s cultural scene’ and had joked with them that it seemed at times that ‘they had twinned themselves’, as they were ever-present at cultural and charitable events around town.

Most people who met Coop, be it at an arts event, restaurant, at the gym, or at Peet’s Coffee, were spontaneously serenaded with a personalized song in his voice that carried the smooth, timeless sound of Frank Sinatra and Vic Damone. Later in life, he recorded his own CD titled “14 for My 7,” featuring classics such as I’ve Got The World On A String, Summertime, and Come Rain or Come Shine. It is a gift to his family that allows a piece of him to live on.

Love of culture and the arts had Coop and Patti return to NYC numerous times; after semi-retirement, they even spent a full year living in the Big Apple, just to experience it more fully. Patti introduced him to Birdland jazz club, where he sang on stage with local and well-known musicians, which began an annual tradition of sorts. Singing truly brought joy to Coop and those in the audience.

In each community they lived, life was a dream that both Coop and Patti created, making long-term friends and connections with their genuine passion toward anything to which they set their minds.

In San Diego, another friend of the arts recalls the impact that Coop and Patti made, which included the pivotal roles they played to coordinate and participate in events to benefit the launch of the Wolfstein Sculpture Park, the rescue of ARTWALK, help to save the 10,000 sq ft space in Balboa Park for SD Art Institute (now ICA), benefit the Globe theater, Paladion atrium’s exhibit of Collectors and Council Member’s Choice Benefit. Throughout the years, some of their support was shown by adding pieces of both established and up-and-coming artists to their ‘Cooprider Family Collection’ (Artworkarchive.com).

Coop’s engaging personality and charm carried him through a life rich with stories and laughter. Please share a thought or memory in the comments as you listen to him sing ‘Summertime’ at https://www.youtube.com/@mollipaige2152 (‘Legacy of Coop and Patti Cooprider’ channel).

His family includes grandchildren of whom Coop was incredibly proud: Tamy and Julian (née Heinz – dad Kyle), Erin, Ian, and Lillian (Paul), Shane (Sachs) and Aliah (mom Gabrielle), Chelsea (née Halladay) and Julia (mom Shannon), extended grand-kids, too, Blake and Tylor (bonus mom Molli). Coop’s legacy lives on in spirit.

At the home he had shared with Patti in San Diego, Coop passed away peacefully on the night of January 19, 2026. Reunited with his forever valentine, he is now pain free.

You can honor Coop’s memory with donations to an arts organization such as https://icasandiego.org/donate/ or to a community org such as the San Diego Brain Injury Foundation, which he proudly sponsored due to his son Kyle. https://sdbif.org/support-sdbif/

Through the ultimate gift to UCSD’s School of Medicine, Body Donation Program, Coop contributes to medical education and research, and hopefully more insight to prostate cancer and the lymphatic system.

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Numerous San Diego Gas & Electric customers in the South Bay, East County and North County were left without power service Wednesday morning.

According to SDG&E’s Outage Map, over 1,100 customers in Chula Vista did not have power as of just before 7 a.m. Service for those customers was expected to be restored by 5 p.m.

Meanwhile, other communities that experienced outages include:

• El Cajon
• Encinitas/Cardiff
• La Mesa
• Lemon Grove
• Palomar Mountain
• Valley Center

The cause of the outages was not immediately known, although strong winds and heavy storms across the county this week may have contributed.

City News Service contributed to this story