Trial: Key witness against judge Hecht goes missing

The judge presiding over the criminal case against Pierce County Superior Court Judge Michael Hecht postponed the trial for more than a month Tuesday to give prosecutors time to track down a key witness who might have gone underground to avoid testifying.

Assistant attorney general John Hillman said he’d be forced to dismiss one of the two charges against Hecht – a misdemeanor count of soliciting a prostitute – if authorities can’t find witness Joseph Pfeiffer by the new trial date of Oct. 12.

King County Superior Court Judge James Cayce granted Hillman’s request to continue the trial but held out hope that authorities could find Pfeiffer overnight and the trial could begin this week as originally planned.

Hecht’s attorney, Wayne Fricke of Tacoma, opposed the delay, arguing that authorities have had months to serve Pfeiffer with a subpoena requiring his testimony.

Hillman alleges in court documents that Hecht paid Pfeiffer for sex on a number of occasions during the summer of 2008 and earlier this year.

Pfeiffer, who reportedly is homeless and a user of illegal drugs, told Tacoma police and The News Tribune that he took money from Hecht in exchange for sex. Hecht denies buying sex from Pfeiffer, whose statements to police are the basis for the solicitation charge against the judge.

Pfeiffer later provided a sworn affidavit to Hecht’s attorney recanting those statements, saying he felt pressured to provide damaging information about Hecht. Pfeiffer said in the affidavit that he and Hecht had sex and that Hecht gave him money on occasion. But he insisted the money was not for the sex.

The revelation that Pfeiffer is missing came on the day jury selection was set to begin for Hecht’s trial.

The judge also is charged with felony harassment for allegedly threatening another young man – Joseph Hesketh IV – who claims he also sold sex to Hecht.

Hecht has pleaded not guilty and contends the charges are part of a political vendetta against him by the man he beat in the August 2008 election – incumbent Sergio Armijo – and Armijo’s political supporters, including recently retired prosecutor Gerald Horne. Horne served on Armijo’s re-election committee, according to campaign-finance records.

Both men have denied pursuing a vendetta against Hecht, and Horne asked the state Attorney General’s Office to prosecute Hecht to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Hecht pointed out before court Tuesday that Hillman worked for Horne as a deputy prosecutor before taking a job with the Attorney General’s Office.

Hillman told Cayce on Tuesday that Tacoma police detectives have been searching extensively for Pfeiffer since a subpoena for his testimony was issued in June but have been unable to find him. They learned recently that Pfeiffer might be living in Seattle and intentionally ducking police to avoid being served a subpoena.

“Their job is not to serve subpoenas. They’re doing that as a favor to me,” Hillman said of the detectives. “Their job is to police the city, and they can’t spend every single day trying to serve a subpoena.”

Fricke countered that the prosecution has known from the beginning that Pfeiffer leads a transitory lifestyle.

“They’ve known for a good four months that it was a situation where they might have difficulty finding this particular witness,” he said.

Cayce ruled that the prosecution had performed “due diligence” in searching for Pfeiffer and granted the postponement.

A material-witness warrant was issued late last month for Pfeiffer. The warrant allows police to arrest Pfeiffer and hold him in jail until he testifies.

Lawyers will argue other pre-trial motions today, including whether the Tacoma Police Department will be required to turn over to Fricke the personnel records of the lead detective on the case, Bradley Graham.

Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644

adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/crime