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DUI cases on hold in Grant County
Story by: Lynne Lynch, Herald staff writer

Argument to suppress breath test evidence set for end of April
EPHRATA - An estimated 100 DUI cases in Grant County are on hold pending the outcome of a court argument asking breath test evidence be suppressed.
Breath test evidence for 11 people was thrown out Wednesday in Douglas County after Wenatchee attorneys Steve Woods and John Brangwin asked the breath test results be excluded.
"Systemic misconduct and incompetence" at the state toxicology lab prompted their request, Brangwin stated.
The lab's head, Barry Logan, resigned Feb. 14. His resignation came after a senior manager signed off on toxicology tests she didn't perform herself, according to a state patrol press release.
Other errors were later found that may have "materially affected breathalyzer results in about 130 DUI cases," the patrol stated.
While reviewing documents for the Douglas County argument, it was discovered the simulator solutions used to calibrate breath test machines were not tested properly, said Brangwin.
The machines must be calibrated once a year as part of a quality assurance procedure, Brangwin said. The state patrol technician correctly performed his job. The solution he used to confirm the machine was working, but the machine wasn't tested correctly, Brangwin said.
"My speculation is that this revelation will cause Grant County to suppress the breath tests," he said.
The technician also certifies machines in other counties in the region, including Grant County, Brangwin said.
The Douglas County cases can go to trial if the defendants can be proven guilty without breath test results, Brangwin said.
Grant County Deputy Prosecutor Angus Lee said some people fighting DUIs in Grant County are pleading guilty because there's "so much overwhelming evidence" without the test.
Lee said he's agreed to suppress a few tests in cases where peoples' results have been double the legal limit of .08 percent blood-alcohol.
The laws states one is guilty of DUI if you're test is more than .08 within two hours of driving, he said.
"The real question is, what is your result when you were pulled over?" he asked. "I think people are getting a little carried away with this."
Lee cited an example of a completed case in which a 140-pound woman said she drank 10 vodka cranberry cocktails before driving. She pleaded guilty, but she asked for another trial after she was sentenced and served her jail time because of the news about the breath tests, he said.
The issue is if the tests are accurate, Lee said.
He also cited an ad published in the Washington State Bar Association journal placed by the Seattle law firm arguing the case in Grant County.
He claims the ad acknowledges the tests are correct with the following sentence referring to former state toxicology lab manager Ann Marie Gordon: "But doing so merely ratifies her alleged misconduct and creates an environment that permits government deception, as long it does not affect the accuracy of the result."
Moses Lake attorney Garth Dano said about 30 DUI cases are being handled by his office.
He said there is possibly hundreds of cases in Grant County where evidence was tainted and people have been found guilty.
"Most of the counties that have looked at this issue now have found that suppression of the breath test is the proper remedy for what the state lab did," he said. "Just because of laziness and sloppiness, potentially innocent people go to jail and lose their licenses."

Pasco driver acquitted in fatality after winch falls off truck
Story by: The Seattle Times Company
Posted: Monday, March 5, 2007 - 12:00 AM

EAST WENATCHEE - A truck driver has been acquitted in what his lawyer says is the first jury trial under Washington's unsecured load law.
A six-member Douglas County District Court jury found Wilfredo "Jesse" De Jesus, 53, a longtime driver for Savage Transportation of Pasco, innocent of first-degree failure to secure a load. The case stems from the death of Bruce A. Gearhart, 33, of Anamosa, Iowa, after a metal ratchet or winch slammed through the windshield of his car Aug. 25 on State Route 28 about six miles east of East Wenatchee.
Deputy Prosecutor Gordon Edgar said the winch came from a Freightliner driven by De Jesus, but nobody saw anything come loose from the truck and defense lawyer Steven W. Woods said it could have come from another vehicle.
"I can appreciate where there wasn't enough evidence as maybe (the jury) would be comfortable with in making a decision, and it is a very new law," Edgar said.
According to the Washington State Patrol, De Jesus used six winches to strap two large potato hoppers onto a Freightliner truck and had three more winches in his tool box.
Edgar said there were no other trucks in the vicinity.
Woods says the verdict rendered Feb. 26 is believed to be was the first under the Maria's Law, a state statute named for Maria Federici of Renton, who was blinded by a piece of particleboard that blew off a trailer and into her car in 2004 on Interstate 405.
Under the law a driver is subject to prosecution for a misdemeanor if something from an unsecured load comes off a vehicle and causes damage, injury or death.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

State settles ‘false arrest’ claim: WSP admits no wrongdoing in case of Rock Island man being detained for DUI
Story by: By Jaime Adame, World staff writer
Posted: Monday - February 26, 2007

ROCK ISLAND — A Rock Island man arrested for driving under the influence received $7,000 earlier this month in a settlement from the state after filing a false arrest claim against the Washington State Patrol.
  “I wanted a lot more for what it put me through,” Terry Vance, 61, said Friday. He was never jailed or handcuffed, though he was in police custody for about two hours.
  The state admits no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. “There was no false arrest,” said Monica Hunter, a sergeant in the State Patrol’s office of government and media relations.
  Vance, who works in the Douglas County Assessor’s office, said he couldn’t stand up straight when he was pulled over by a State Patrol trooper on the night of July 8. He admitted to drinking part of a glass of wine and taking pain medication earlier that day.
  But it was back pain, not alcohol or drugs, that Vance said he knew would keep him from passing a field sobriety test.
  Vance said that’s what he told Trooper Ron Cantwell, who was profiled in a 2005 article in The Wenatchee World with a headline, “Trooper among best at nabbing DUIs.”
  “He said, ‘I don’t care, I want you to take it,’ ” Vance said.
  Vance tried to follow the orders — stand on one foot, walk heel-to-toe — but he failed the test. Despite registering a near zero on a portable breath test designed to measure blood-alcohol concentration, Vance was told he was under arrest.
  “I absolutely couldn’t believe it,” Vance said. He was then taken from where he and his wife were pulled over, on Highway 28 near the Rock Island Hydro Park, to the East Wenatchee Police Station.
  There he said he passed an exam from a Wenatchee police officer trained to recognize whether someone is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
  “I thought he (Cantwell) was just going to turn me loose,” Vance said. But the DUI arrest was not cleared that night, although the charge would later be dismissed by Douglas County prosecutors.
  Gordon Edgar, a deputy prosecutor for Douglas County, said he didn’t handle the case. But he said that just because a DUI charge is dismissed, that doesn’t mean that an officer is wrong to arrest someone.
  “The police are not supposed to be basing their arrests on whether they can get a conviction, they’re basing their arrests primarily on public safety,” Edgar said. He said his office “on occasion” reduces or dismisses DUI charges, but said he couldn’t say how often that happens.
  Vance filed a false arrest claim, sparking a State Patrol investigation into Cantwell, but no disciplinary action was taken against Cantwell, said Hunter.
  Instead, “a training issue” was uncovered, she said. Cantwell did not submit the report from the second officer to prosecutors, and has been ordered to undergo training so that such a mistake won’t happen again, Hunter said, adding that Cantwell had not received the report from the second officer at the time he submitted his paperwork.
  Still, Cantwell did nothing wrong in arresting Vance, she said. She explained that Cantwell and other troopers rely on their experience and various observations to make a decision about whether or not someone should be arrested for driving under the influence.
  A request for comment from Cantwell was denied by State Patrol officials. They did, however, release the arrest report written by Cantwell.
  In his report, Cantwell describes how he pulled Vance over after seeing his Dodge truck “drift to the right, crossing the fog line by about two tire widths then with a jerking motion correct the vehicle back into the lane of travel. I observed the vehicle do this two more times.”
  Vance said that, since he hurt his back in a car accident in 2000, “I crowd the white line.” He said he didn’t know if he had crossed the line or not.
  Vance does not deny parts of Cantwell’s report. He admits to telling Cantwell that he had taken pain medication earlier in the day, and to telling Cantwell he had drunk part of a glass of wine (the report says half a glass) at a wedding reception not long before getting behind the wheel.
  But Vance denies having slurred speech, something Cantwell notes on his report.
  John Brangwin, lawyer for Vance, criticized Cantwell, alleging that he cuts corners to boost his arrest statistics. In 2004, Cantwell made 209 DUI arrests, ranking second in the state among all troopers.
  The arrest “really upset me,” Vance said, explaining how he was not allowed to take any pain medication while undergoing exams in the East Wenatchee police station, and how his family had to wait for him outside the station.
  Edgar, the deputy prosecutor, said he has handled about 1,000 DUI cases, including several where an arrest or report was made by Cantwell.
  “I’ve never had problems with his credibility or with his professional opinion about whether an individual was unfit to drive a motor vehicle,” Edgar said.
  Brangwin said “it’s not a crime to have a bad back and drive in Washington.”
  “State troopers and other police officers have to be able to tell the difference between someone who has physical ailments and someone who is under the influence,” Brangwin said.
Jaime Adame may be reached at 664-7144 or by e-mail at adame@wenworld.com

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Article published Dec 17, 2007
John Brangwin of Woods & Brangwin, a Wenatchee law firm, has been designated a "Rising Star" by Washington Law and Politics magazine for the third year in a row.

Article published Nov 5, 2007
People & places
Beth A. Wilcox has joined the Wenatchee law firm of Woods & Brangwin as an attorney.

Article published Aug 28, 2007
New city prosecutor filing more complaints
By Jay Patrick, World staff writer

EAST WENATCHEE -- City prosecutor Devin Poulson is racking up misdemeanor criminal complaints.
Poulson filed 58 complaints through Aug. 3 of this year, his first full year on the job. In 2005, the city prosecutor, a lawyer with a local law firm contracted by the city, pursued 16 cases.
Poulson is the city's first in-house attorney. He serves as prosecutor as well as the attorney handling municipal matters and advising the City Council.
Misdemeanor charges in Municipal Court can be pressed by the police, who file criminal citations when they arrest someone, or city prosecutors, who can file criminal complaints, based on police reports, against anyone they think they can prove is guilty of a misdemeanor, even if the person was not cited by police.
Most misdemeanor charges in East Wenatchee Municipal Court, like most civic courts, arise from criminal citations filed by police. However, the number pressed by the prosecutor in East Wenatchee is surging. "I'm not willing to dismiss a case unless I have an evidentiary problem," said Poulson, 40, a Salt Lake City native and Seattle University Law School graduate. If all the evidence lines up, there's no reason to make a plea bargain, he said. It was standing-room-only last Tuesday at City Hall at the most recent session of East Wenatchee Municipal Court. Defendants and their families filled the chairs. Cuffed prisoners wearing inmate scrubs and fluorescent orange slippers sat in the jury box. A couple of cops stood by and a pack of defense attorneys jabbered in the back as cases were called and disposed of, rapid fire. There were 70 cases on the day's calendar.
Defense attorney John Brangwin wore pinstripe pants, took emphatic strides around the room and joked with the judge. He's worked in East Wenatchee Municipal Court for 10 years.
"Overall, since Devin Poulson has been there he's tightened things up," Brangwin said. "The plea bargains may not be as favorable as they used to be."
Still, Brangwin said Poulson's not doing anything extraordinary. "I don't see any war on crime or anything," Brangwin said. "I just don't know if there's a story there."
Brangwin said he has a good working relationship with Poulson that is largely conducted by e-mail.

Article published Feb 14, 2007
Briefly: News from around NCW -- K.C. Mehaffey, World staff
Local attorney named to Douglas County post
Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday reappointed Wenatchee Valley attorney John Brangwin to serve on the Douglas County Boundary Review Board. The term of his appointment is through Jan. 31, 2011.
The Boundary Review Board is called in to rule on annexation proposals.
When one jurisdiction opposes an annexation that another is seeking, it can appeal to the Boundary Review Board to settle the dispute.
Right now, the board is considering East Wenatchee's challenge to the East Wenatchee Water District's bid to annex, and extend residential-level service to, 4,000 acres of farmland outside city limits near Pangborn Memorial Airport.
East Wenatchee contends that residential development in the area isn't charted out in the city and county comprehensive plans.

Article published Jan 15, 2007
For Judge Warren, court is out
By Jay Patrick, World staff writer

WENATCHEE -- Tom Warren often cracked jokes and flashed a big smile from the bench during more than 20 years as a Chelan County District Court judge. Sometimes he snarled.
Warren, 66, retired Jan. 7 from the post that handles a heaping hodgepodge of criminal misdemeanor and civil cases.
"He made court a joy," said John Brangwin, a Wenatchee attorney who appeared before Warren about once a week for nearly 10 years. The longtime judge was serious when necessary but didn't insist upon a staid, humorless courtroom, Brangwin said.
In the final trial Warren presided over Jan. 5, Brangwin defended a client charged with reckless driving. After hearing from three witnesses, the jury found the defendant not guilty, but there was compelling evidence that the person had been speeding.
"As soon as the jury came back, (Warren) turned to my client and said 'you need to slow down,' " Brangwin said.
Throughout his career Warren seemingly didn't shy away from tossing in his two cents. If something bugged him, he let it be known. If he thought someone screwed up, he told them so without any sugar coating.
"Tom could have a temper. He could really lose it sometimes," but unlike some judges, Warren didn't hold grudges and respected the lawyers, Brangwin said.
Though he was once the target of Warren's wrath, Brangwin said: "I have really enjoyed the last nine years appearing in front of Tom Warren."
Longtime local lawyer Chuck Zimmerman, president of the Chelan-Douglas chapter of the Washington Bar Association, praised the judge, calling him fair, firm, and efficient, as well as a positive force in community groups like the Wenatchee Lions. Warren was also president of the Wenatchee Chamber of Commerce, director of the Apple Blossom Festival and president of United Way of Washington, among other leadership roles in the community over the years.
Zimmerman said Warren succeeded in swiftly moving through the heavy district court loads while safeguarding justice.
Warren, a Wenatchee native, became a county district court commissioner in 1972 and was appointed judge in 1986 when a new seat was created. He was not opposed in his first election and was never challenged for re-election.
Warren said defendants certainly have a chance to learn more about their own cases, particularly outside of the courtroom.
"There's so much trauma when you are a defendant in a courtroom. You just want to get out of there with your skin," he said. What a judge tells a defendant in session often goes right in one ear and out the other, he said. Warren was noncommittal about whether or not the process-slowing expansion of defendants' rights has been a good thing.
"If nothing else it creates jobs for lawyers," he said.
Warren said he prides himself on being a great communicator. He has written legal tip columns and other articles over the years for El Mundo, The Wenatchee World, the Chamber of Commerce and various legal professional publications.
Attorney Brangwin noted that Warren "had really good 30-second speeches" well-suited for defendants who generally didn't pay attention to five-minute lectures.

Article published Dec 24, 2006
People and places

John Brangwin, a partner in the Woods & Brangwin law firm in Wenatchee, has been designated a Washington Rising Star for a second year by Washington Law and Politics. Rising Stars must be under 40 years old and have been in practice 10 years or less.

Leniency given in vehicular homicide
Story by: Dan Wheat, World staff writer
Posted: Tuesday - November 21, 2006

WATERVILLE - A 25-year-old Waterville man was sentenced to six months in jail Tuesday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to vehicular homicide in the July death of his childhood friend.
  The sentencing of Judd Charles Jones came after what lawyers said was an extraordinary hearing in Douglas County Superior Court where families for both Jones and his deceased friend, Kellen Biggar, asked for leniency in person and in letters.
  "I don't know that I can put into words how remorseful Judd feels. He apologized in court and said there's no way he would have made it through this time without the support and love of the Biggar family," said his defense lawyer, John Brangwin.
  "In my career of 10 years (as a lawyer), I've never seen a case where the victim's family was so supportive of the defendant and I can't imagine I'll ever see it again," Brangwin said.
  More than 100 people attended the sentencing hearing, he said.
  Biggar, 24, a star athlete and 2000 graduate of Waterville High School, died when the vehicle in which he was riding and Jones was driving July 23 went off Sprauer Road about five miles north of Waterville, rolling over about three times.
  The two were returning home from a party at Lake Chelan and Jones was intoxicated, Deputy Chelan County Prosecutor Doug Shae said.
  Biggar had completed three years in the U.S. Army in May and had served in Iraq.
  Shae handled the case at the request of Douglas County Prosecutor Steve Clem. Kellen Biggar is a nephew of Deputy Douglas County Prosecutor Eric Biggar.
  The defendant's sister and his father, Charles Jones, spoke in court and community members, including the Biggar family, submitted letters asking for leniency, Shae said.
  With no prior criminal record, Jones' standard range for sentencing was 10 to 15 months in jail, Shae said. He and Brangwin asked for 12 months.
  Judge John Hotchkiss, noting the lifelong friendship of Jones and Biggar and the closeness of the families, chose an exceptional sentence below the standard range, Shae said.
  The six months in jail is on work or school release, meaning Jones will be in jail when not at work or school, Brangwin said.
  As part of a subsequent 18 months of probation, Hotchkiss ordered Jones to ask all Douglas County high schools and Wenatchee High School if they want him to talk at the schools on the dangers of drinking and driving, Shae said.
  "I don't think I've ever seen that before. I can't imagine it will be an easy thing to do," Shae said.
  Hotchkiss ordered Jones to pay $1,925 in court costs and fines, suspended his driver's license for one year, told him not to drink and to attend a drunken drivers' survivors class, all standard conditions, Shae said.

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Story by: KPQ News
Posted: Thursday, 5 May 2005 08:12:04 PDT

It may be more difficult for Chelan County Prosecutors to prove that someone was driving under the Influence, Chelan County District Judge, Thomas Warren, Tuesday found that the State's new D.U.I. law was unconstitutional. The law simplified what officials had to do to get breathalyzer evidence admitted in court. The Prosecutor's office will file a motion with Judge Warren for reconsideration.

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Friday - August 26, 2005

  Wenatchee attorney John M. Brangwin recently graduated from the National College for DUI Defense. The training was at Harvard Law School.

Sunday - July 17, 2005

  Attorney John Brangwin completed a three-day course in Bellevue on standardized field sobriety tests. The course, which was conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, included information on determination clues used during driving under the influence detection and arrests. Brangwin is an attorney with the Woods & Brangwin PLLC law firm in Wenatchee.

DUI deals - A second chance: Three prominent officials charged with DUI are using or hope to use deferred prosecution to avoid jail. But, experts say, it's no free pass.

By Martin Salazar, World staff writer
Sunday - March 28, 2004

  When a former top cop, a county commissioner and a member of the state's highest court found themselves charged with driving drunk, they each reached for the same lifeline.
  State Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge, Douglas County Commissioner Dane Keane and former Chelan County chief criminal deputy Mark Mann pursued deferred prosecution. The option allows most driving under the influence defendants to hold onto their driver's licenses and avoid jail. If a defendant adheres to all the conditions imposed, the charge is tossed out after five years and doesn't become part of his or her criminal record.
  It's an option available to most people who have a substance abuse or mental problem ? not just prominent individuals with connections and money, and it's not a free pass, according to prosecutors, defendants and an attorney who represents clients charged with DUI. Deferred prosecution has been available to people in this state since at least 1975, said Douglas County Deputy Prosecutor Gordon Edgar.
  This is not some elitist program for famous people, said Wenatchee attorney John Brangwin, whose law firm represents DUI defendants.
  Those who want deferred prosecution must file a petition with the court admitting their problem, and they have to obtain an evaluation saying treatment is needed. Ultimately, a judge decides whether to grant the petition.
  Brangwin said more DUI defendants don't pursue deferred prosecution because they aren't alcoholics and therefore don't qualify. He said judges typically grant deferred prosecutions to most people who apply for one and have an alcohol problem. The exceptions are cases where a defendant has multiple prior offenses or where a defendant is not committed to treatment, Brangwin said.

Martin Salazar can be reached at 664-7155 or by e-mail at salazar@wenworld.com

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Judge rejects breath test results..........

By Martin Salazar, World staff writer
Thursday - October 9, 2003

WENATCHEE - A Chelan County District Court judge has thrown out the results of breath tests in 18 drunken-driving cases, finding that the method used to calibrate the two machines used locally did not meet legal requirements.
  The decision will likely impact all pending Chelan County and city of Wenatchee cases involving breath tests prior to Sept. 22, said Wenatchee attorney John Brangwin, who sought the ruling. Brangwin said he plans to mount similar challenges to test results in Douglas and Okanogan counties next week.
  The breath tests have come under scrutiny throughout the state due to calibration shortcomings, he said. In June, King County District Court threw out results, and several other courts have followed suit, Brangwin said.
  The problem is that thermometers used to measure the temperature of the solution that verifies the machines' accuracy were not calibrated according to written standards set by the state toxicologist, Chelan County District Court Judge Alicia Nakata found. Brangwin said the State Patrol's Breath Test Section did not adhere to the established protocol.
  District Court Judge Alicia Nakata threw out the local test results at a court hearing on Tuesday afternoon. Attorneys with the Chelan County Prosecutor's Office and the city of Wenatchee had asked Nakata to deny the motion to suppress the evidence.
  Nakata's ruling directly impacts 11 city cases and the other seven are Chelan County cases. The machines belong to the State Patrol, but are used by law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

Martin Salazar can be reached at 664-7155 or by e-mail at salazar@wenworld.com

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Woman who gave patch to friend guilty of homicide: Prescription pain medication resulted in the death of Wenatchee woman..........

By Laurie Smith, World staff writer
Sunday - March 2, 2003

WENATCHEE - A Wenatchee woman who said she was trying to help a friend when she gave her prescription pain medication pleaded guilty this past week to controlled-substance homicide.
  Angeline S. Page, 32, will serve 75 days in electronically monitored home detention and 15 days of community service under the sentence handed down Thursday by Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges.
  Page, who has no criminal history of any kind, faced a standard sentencing range of 31 to 41 months in prison.
  It's a tragedy that this happened, said defense attorney John Brangwin. She gave her the medicine because she felt Amanda was in pain, and Amanda asked her to give her some, and then this happened.
  Brangwin said Page suffers from chronic pain and uncontrolled seizures.

Laurie Smith can be reached at 664-7153 or by e-mail at smith@wenworld.com

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Field breath tests for drunken drivers admissible in court, but unreliable.........

By Dan Wheat, World staff writer
Tuesday - March 26, 2002

EAST WENATCHEE - So what do cops do when a driver blows a .08 legally drunk on a field breath test?
  Some agencies have rigid guidelines. Others allow greater officer discretion.
  The problem is that the portable breath test, which officers call the PBT, and other field sobriety tests are not foolproof, several law officers and public defense attorneys explained Monday.
  The portable breath test is admissible in court to show probable cause that someone consumed alcohol, but not how much. They aren't reliable enough.
  The bottom line: Officers like to have probable cause from a person's driving, demeanor or behavior, plus a number of field sobriety tests and the portable breath test.
  Defense attorney Steven Woods said people are arrested on .06 and .07 portable breath test readings. He said a person in Chelan was charged with drunken driving on a .03 breath analyzer reading. He said it's rare but drunken driving can be proven, on officers' observations, when the breath analyzer is under .08.
  Woods said the gaze nystagnumus test is the most accurate of the field sobriety tests, but not foolproof. He said false readings occur from neurological problems or an officer making a person move his eyes too far.
  In this last trial, my client was facing the emergency lights of the police car and even the state's expert said those lights could have caused my client's eyes to jerk, Woods said.

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No charges in Gellatly shooting: Prosecutor: Deputy acted in self defense; businessman didn't try to assault him........

By Katherine Schiffner, World staff writer
Wednesday - August 1, 2001

EAST WENATCHEE - No charges will be filed against Wenatchee businessman Marvin Gellatly or against Justin Boynton, the off-duty Douglas County deputy who shot Gellatly outside an East Wenatchee residence June 2.
  Douglas County Prosecutor Steve Clem said Tuesday Boynton believed Gellatly was an armed intruder trying to attack him when he fired a single shot at Gellatly, hitting Gellatly in the lower abdomen.
  But Gellatly's lawyer, John Brangwin, said Boynton wasn't justified in shooting Gellatly, and disputed some aspects of Clem's account of the incident.
  Gellatly certainly did not attack the officer. He did not charge the officer. The officer was mistaken,? Brangwin said. ?He shot an unarmed man.
  He declined to say whether he believes Boynton should have been charged with a crime because his own investigation of the incident isn't finished.
  The shooting happened at about 4 a.m. June 2 outside the 219 Eastridge Drive home of Lisa Dickson, 27, an employee of the Gellatly Agency Inc. Gellatly, 50, is a stockholder and officer in the Gellatly Agency, a Wenatchee insurance and bond agency.
  Brangwin said Gellatly was pleased he was not charged, but said the decision wasn't unexpected. Boynton could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Wenatchee World reporter Marco Martinez contributed to this article

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Lawyer: Man didn't charge deputy: Statements conflict with what deputy says about shooting...........

By Dan Wheat, World staff writer
Friday - June 8, 2001

EAST WENATCHEE - Marvin Gellatly didn't charge an off-duty sheriff's deputy before the deputy shot him Saturday morning, the businessman's lawyer said today.
  The lawyer also said Gellatly told him he had only a key and plastic key chain in his hand, or nothing at all, when Deputy Justin Boynton fired.
  The statements by lawyer John Brangwin conflict with statements by Douglas County Sheriff Dan LaRoche about the 4 a.m. shooting outside the East Wenatchee-area residence of Lisa Dickson.
  LaRoche has said Boynton told deputies that Gellatly charged at him from near the house and had something in his hand. The sheriff said Boynton may have thought the man he shot had a weapon in his hand. A beer can was found in the yard.
  Brangwin said Gellatly will cooperate but that no interview has been scheduled yet. He said Gellatly may be released from a Seattle-area hospital Saturday, at the earliest. He said Gellatly's condition is good and has been improving since he underwent surgery Monday for a damaged liver.
  Boynton told deputies he found the door ajar, got his gun and a flashlight and went outside where he found a man hiding in bushes, identified himself as a deputy and ordered him to come out and get down.
  LaRoche has said Zodrow heard Boynton shouting commands and a gunshot.
  Today, Brangwin said Gellatly had a legitimate reason for returning to the house at 4 a.m. but wouldn't say what it was. He said he doesn't know if Dickson told Boynton anything about her pre-midnight conversation with Gellatly.
  Those are very germane questions we want to ask Boynton or Dickson, Brangwin said. The fact Gellatly was there earlier certainly does call into question why Mr. Boynton would immediately assume it's a prowler.
  Brangwin said Jim Berg, a Manson private investigator, is helping him with his investigation.

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