Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik says his hands are tied in proceeding with an attempted-murder case, because of the ongoing criminal investigation into the lead detective.
His office on Thursday dropped about a half-dozen charges filed against co-defendants Troy D. Meyers, 47, and Michael Conley, 50, who were accused in the stabbing of an acquaintance last year. The decision took defense attorney Shon Bogar by surprise, he said, because during a hearing the week prior, he asked a judge to dismiss the case on the same premise, but the prosecution objected.
Golik acknowledged in a phone interview Friday that it appears his office did an about-face on the decision to dismiss. However, after further reflection on the judge’s opinion — where he found it was appropriate to release Meyers and Conley as they await trial — Golik felt the dismissal was the best course of action, he said.
“This is obviously a very unusual circumstance, and it’s not easy to make sure what the correct decision is. But, we’ve certainly been discussing it at great length — balancing our obligation,” he said.
Prosecutors wrestled with the decision, Golik said, but agreed that Bogar’s arguments have merit.
Bogar, who represents Meyers, argued at the Dec. 15 hearing that the prosecution had not shared any information about the misconduct allegations against longtime Clark County sheriff’s Detective Kevin Harper, who was placed on leave Sept. 26. The sheriff’s office has not released the nature of the allegations.
Bogar said he believes evidence favorable to the defense exists and is being withheld. The lack of information about Harper, he argued, was delaying the case and violating his client’s right to effective counsel.
Golik said his office is not privy to the allegations against Harper, as the investigation is being conducted by the Washington State Patrol’s Criminal Investigations Unit.
“We are aware this investigation has been going on since September. We have a duty, as Mr. Bogar is arguing, to get relevant information to the defense in a timely manner before trial. We have been trying to do that in this case, but we are in a situation where we still don’t know when the investigation into Detective Harper’s conduct will be complete,” Golik said.
If criminal charges are recommended, they will be forwarded to the state Attorney General’s Office for review.
In the meantime, the attempted-murder case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the prosecution can refile the charges at a later date.
Golik said once the investigation is complete and made available, his office will evaluate all of the evidence and determine if it’s appropriate to refile the charges. The statute of limitations allows the prosecution to refile within three years, Golik said, or arguably any time, due to the nature of the alleged crime. However, he said he anticipates making that determination within a few months of the investigation being released.
“We’re hopeful that the investigation by the State Patrol will be completed soon, but it’s all sort of a moving target right now,” Golik said. He’s heard that it won’t be completed until sometime in January, he added.
Other than what was raised by Bogar and one other attorney, Golik said he is not aware of any additional cases that have come before the courts in relation to the Harper investigation. However, he anticipates there will be more. His office will look at each, he said, and determine the best course of action on a case-by-case basis. Although Harper is a witness in many cases, he was not the lead detective in all of them, and in some, only played a small role, Golik said.
Harper is listed as a witness in 12 pending Superior Court cases. It was not immediately available how many he is the lead detective in. He is also listed as a witness in three cases awaiting a charging decision, four suspended cases and three cases on warrant status, Golik said.
Bogar said Friday morning that he will be pursuing nearly identical motions in other cases involving Harper.
