Pierce County prosecutor refuses to work with accused drug unit members. Team disbanded
A Pierce County sheriff’s drug unit disbanded Monday for the second time in three months after prosecutors declined to work with 10 members recently placed on a “potential impeachment” list.
In a July 15 email, Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett told Undersheriff Brent Bomkamp she was concerned about statements made by the unit in a News Tribune article regarding an ongoing investigation into whether drug unit members improperly searched and detained suspects, falsified police reports and failed to follow department protocols regarding confidential informants.
“I am troubled by the way the arguments by these 10 personnel seem crafted to minimize and distract from the actual issues that are under investigation,” Robnett wrote.
Members of the sheriff’s Special Investigation Unit maintain they’ve done nothing wrong and say they were placed on the “potential impeachment recurring witness list” because of clashes with the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office.
A committee of deputy prosecutors adds recurring witnesses to the potential impeachment list if there is information that could call into question their credibility.
Five members of the unit are being internally investigated for possibly violating seven department protocols, including exceeding lawful peace officer powers, falsification of records, search-and-seizure policy, failure to obey lawful orders, failure to disclose material fact or making false or misleading statement, unsatisfactory job performance and constitutional requirements.
The internal investigation is being conducted by the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office to ensure transparency.
Mike Blair, the Sheriff Department’s chief of staff, declined to say which of the drug unit members are being internally investigated.
Deputies and detectives placed on the potential impeachment list include Christopher Adamson, Jason Bray, Lucas Cole, Shaun Darby, Cynthia Fajardo, James Maas, Tommie Nicodemus, Ryan Olivarez, Darrin Rayner and Elizabeth Reigle.
Lt. Fajardo, who supervised the unit for a year, is one of four candidates running for sheriff.
“Every person in Pierce County should be demanding an explanation from (Robnett) why the office would stop ALL illegal drug enforcement activities in Pierce County over a newspaper story,” the 10 unit members said in a statement released through their attorney, Joan Mell. “The fact is we are defending what we do to keep drugs off the street, and (Robnett) discredits our work because we have questioned their processes and protocol. (Robnett) has not worked with us to find common ground, and now has flatly rejected our invitation to come to the table and work through solutions to the underlying problems.”
In the email to the undersheriff, Robnett said her office will not negotiate over the duty of prosecutors regarding potential impeachment information, which legally must be disclosed to defense attorneys.
A judge then decides whether the information is relevant and admissible in court.
At the heart of the matter for SIU’s members is their desire to protect the identity of confidential informants.
After a new law went into effect last year requiring transparency with confidential informants, Robnett developed a new protocol regarding informants that she says has been followed by every law enforcement agency in Pierce County with the exception of the sheriff’s drug unit.
“Police and prosecutors alike must follow the law, and one purpose of the confidential informant protocol is for everyone to know and understand what the law requires,” Robnett said in her email. “The protocol is also in place to ensure investigations, including searches, are done lawfully and yield admissible evidence. If the protocol is not followed and the evidence collected cannot be used at trial, of what use is SIU’s efforts?”
Sheriff’s officials apparently agreed since the drug unit was again disbanded after less than a week of work, and all members were reassigned effective Monday.
It’s unclear when SIU will resume work.
“We’re evaluating our options and figuring out a path forward so we can have actionable, prosecutable cases,” Blair said.
In the meantime, he said patrol deputies will continue working drug cases in Pierce County.
The 13-member Special Investigation Unit was first disbanded April 21 after officials said concerns flagged by deputies, detectives and deputy prosecutors prompted the need for an administrative review.
Ten of the unit’s personnel were reassigned to patrol, the Central Investigation Bureau, court security and the Department of Emergency Management.
On July 6, the unit started work again with new leadership and some new members. Six of the original 10 returned to SIU.
The newly launched drug unit met the next day with prosecutors to talk about how to properly handle confidential informants and searches so evidence obtained can be used in criminal cases.
Robnett’s email made it clear the meeting was less successful than originally believed.
She mentioned an email sent by one of SIU’s detectives after the meeting that apparently criticized deputy prosecutor Fred Wist, who screens cases and decides which cases to prosecute.
“I will not require Fred Wist or any of our employees to try to engage in frank and open discussion with SIU personnel only to be discredited behind their backs by email and media stories,” Robnett wrote.
The 10 SIU personnel placed on the potential impeachment list expressed concern about Wist’s knowledge and experience in trying drug cases, according to a 10-page collective statement given to The News Tribune by Mell.
Robnett objected, saying Wist has three decades of experience as a deputy prosecutor trying all sorts of cases.
Possible wrongdoing by the drug unit personnel stems from six narcotics cases dating back to at least 2018.
In two of the cases, prosecutors dismissed criminal charges against alleged drug traffickers. Charges remain in a third case scheduled for trial next month.
An internal investigation is being done in two cases, and the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office is reviewing another two, which will eventually become internal investigations, according to an April 8 letter from Bomkamp to the Prosecutor’s Office.
“The real issue here is not the allegations against the officers — which at this point are still in part under investigation (some have been cleared) — it is the fact that a team of people who have been out on the streets working to keep drugs out of our homes and out of our children’s hands cannot do their work,” according to the unit’s statement.
The 10 SIU members on the potential impeachment list have been working narcotics cases anywhere from five months to 10 years.
Reigle and Darby have been there the longest, with 10 years and seven years respectively. Bray and Maas each worked in the drug unit for two years, and Fajardo and Olivarez each had a year of experience with the unit.
Adamson, Cole and Nicodemus were in SIU less than a year.
The Prosecutor’s Office said it respects Lt. Kevin Roberts, who took over the Special Investigation Unit last week, and looks forward to working with him in the future.
“Our trust and communication deficit does not lie with the Sheriff, Lt. Roberts, or the department in general,” Robnett said in her email. “We do look forward to working with all of SIU at some point in the future, perhaps after the investigative findings regarding these employees have been completed.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
