BELLINGHAM — At least two victims have come forward, and detectives believe there are more, in the criminal case against a fired Whatcom County sheriff’s deputy facing a myriad of criminal allegations.
Austin Michael Case, 23, of Ferndale, was arrested Wednesday, July 12, on suspicion of third-degree rape, first-degree extortion, first-degree burglary, fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation and two counts of unlawful imprisonment, according to Whatcom County Jail records.
Bail was set at $250,000 at Case’s first appearance Thursday, July 13, in Whatcom County Superior Court.
Case, who was hired in January by the Sheriff’s office, was fired the same day he was arrested, The Bellingham Herald reported.
Two women have accused Case of using his position as a law enforcement officer to sexually assault, threaten and blackmail them.
He is currently the subject of an internal affairs investigation being conducted by the Sheriff’s Office.
On June 29, the Sheriff’s Office was notified about social media conversations that caused concerns regarding Case’s adherence to the expectations for sheriff’s office employees, according to a sheriff’s office press release on Wednesday.
Case was placed on administrative leave and an internal affairs investigation was started the same day. The internal affairs investigation is expected to determine whether Case violated any rules or regulations governing sheriff’s office employees, the release states.
The sheriff’s office has not answered The Herald’s questions regarding whether Case’s leave was paid or unpaid, when his field training began, when the agency first started having concerns about Case, or what potential policy or rule violations the internal affairs investigation concerns.
Once the investigation is completed, the findings will be reported to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, which is responsible for certifying and decertifying Washington state law enforcement officers who violate the commission’s rules and/or state law.
First appearance
At Case’s first appearance Thursday, there initially was some confusion about which attorney was representing him, delaying the hearing.
Further confusion over the nature of the hearing followed.
It later was determined that Case had retained Lisa Elliott, a private attorney out of Seattle who specializes in defending law enforcement officers against civil rights and use of force accusations, according to her LinkedIn page and several attorney profiles. She is also the city attorney for Roy, Washington, according to the city’s website.
Because Elliott had not been given any paperwork or had time to review the documents with Case, Whatcom County Superior Court Commissioner Ann Vetter-Hansen explained all of Case’s rights to him at the hearing.
The commissioner then said when she had given Elliott the opportunity to delay the hearing or be sent documents, Elliott chose to move forward.
“Oh my gosh your honor, is he being arraigned right now?” Elliott said. “… It was my understanding that he’s just supposed to be released on his own recognizance.”
“No ma’am, that is not what we’re going to do. We’re going to decide his release conditions and whether or not the court will be imposing bail,” Vetter-Hansen said in response. She then explained how first appearances are typically conducted in Whatcom County.
“It sounds like you’re frustrated with the situation in which you find yourself, and I can understand that, but I’m doing things the way I always do things and the way we always do things in the Superior Court. So the expectation will be that you be prepared,” Vetter-Hansen said.
Because Case’s defense attorney had not yet received a copy of the charging document, Skagit County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rosemary Kaholokula then read it aloud in court. The Skagit County prosecutor’s office is handling the case due to conflicts of interest.
Case, who appeared in an orange jail jumpsuit via video from a private room, looked down and shook his head at least twice while the allegations were being read aloud.
Elliott said there was no evidence except for one person’s word making the allegations against Case.
“I don’t believe that just one person making allegations without any substantiating evidence amounts to probable cause,” Elliott said.
The commissioner ruled there was probable cause for the charges expected to be filed against Case.
Kaholokula, the Skagit prosecutor, asked the commissioner to set bail at $250,000 for Case due to his “egregious abuse of his power and his authority.”
“He used his authority specifically to sexually assault two different women. This is incredibly dangerous,” Kaholokula said.
Roughly 20 firearms, all legally owned, were taken from Case’s home, Kaholokula said.
Elliott said Case had lived in Whatcom County his entire life, had no previous criminal history and that he had been free for the last several months while the allegations were being investigated. She said Case was “not a danger to the community” and “there was no reason to have any kind of bail.”
Elliott asked that Case be released on his personal recognizance.
Vetter-Hansen, the commissioner, said there were “grave concerns” that Case “poses a likelihood to intefere with the administration of justice.” She then set bail.
A sexual assault protection order for the two women was also put into place and Case is prohibited from possessing firearms.
His arraignment has been scheduled for July 21.
Criminal investigation
During the internal affairs investigation, the sheriff’s office determined that some of the allegations against Case could constitute crimes.
On July 10, the sheriff’s office contacted the Mount Vernon Police Department and requested that a criminal investigation against Case be opened, according to a Thursday afternoon Skagit and Island County Multiple Agency Response Team, or SMART, press release. It’s not uncommon for a law enforcement agency to conflict out a criminal investigation of an employee “as this allows for an impartial, independent investigation,” the release states.
The scope of the investigation into Case “proved to be very resource consuming for any one agency,” the SMART press release states. It was then determined that SMART would be activated.
SMART, which includes a team of investigators, technical experts and command staff throughout Skagit and Island counties, is most commonly activated for police shootings or deadly force incidents. In criminal investigations similar to Case’s, SMART can be activated “when the scope of work exceeds the current capacity of a single agency,” the release states. Such limitations can include staffing, current caseloads or complexity of an investigation.
While the criminal investigation into Case is in its early stages, SMART detectives have contacted two victims and established probable cause to arrest Case.
Detectives also obtained search warrants for Case’s house and vehicle.
“It has been determined that the criminal activity occurred outside Case’s duties with” the sheriff’s office, the release states.
Detectives believe there are additional victims and are requesting their assistance with the investigation, according to the release.
Anyone with information that would assist the SMART investigation is asked to call the tip line at (360)-661-2319, which is being monitored by detectives.
Case recently hired
Case was hired by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 15.
Shortly after, he attended and completed the 720-hour Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Burien. He was then assigned to a field training officer and continued his training.
Case was still in his 15-month probationary period, during which “his performance and ascription to the values of the organization were evaluated at least daily,” when he was terminated, the Sheriff’s Office said.
While Case was employed as a deputy, he was “always under the direct supervision of a field training officer and never was released to perform law enforcement duties independently of the direct control of an experienced and specially trained field training deputy,” according to the Sheriff’s Office press release.
Some information for this story was contributed by reporter Puneet Bsanti.
