Okanogan County Prosecutor Withdraws from Appeal
OKANOGAN, WA
Okanogan County Prosecutor Arian Noma
Okanogan County Prosecutor Arian Noma withdrew from the Faire appeal that his predecessor, Branden Platter, filed in August of 2018. Noma made the decision to send the appeal to the Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office; Special Prosecutor Tamara Hanlon now represents the State of Washington in an appeal that challenges the decision of Okanogan Superior Court Judge Christopher Culp to dismiss the charges against James Faire WITH PREJUDICE. In his memorandum opinion granting the dismissal, Judge Culp states “given the egregious nature of the cumulative misconduct” dismissal is appropriate.
This case began in mid June of 2015 when James and Angela Faire were violently ambushed by a group of five people led by Debra Long. The Faires had personal knowledge of four of the five conspirators and even provided for them while the Faires took care of their dying friend, Michele St. Pierre. St. Pierre lost her battle to an aggressive form of breast cancer and died three days before the Faires were attacked. Once the truck the Faires traveled in came to a stop, four of the five conspirators immediately surrounded the truck, preventing the Faires from leaving. they were immediately and violently attacked by George Abrantes with a deadly weapon consisting of a 2 foot heavy logging chain with a lock attached to the end of it. Realizing he and his wife were in great danger, Faire retreated from every brutal assault. In his attempt to get him and his wife to safety and unbeknowst to Faire, Debra Long was runover. The US~Observer has reported extensively on this case; the reader can go to www.observer.com and search on “James Faire,” for the full story.
To recap what has transpired since Judge Culp dismissed the charges on July 17 2018:
- August 9, 2018: then Okanogan County Prosecutor Branden Platter filed a Notice of Appeal. Platter’s brief was due to be filed by December 21, 2018
- August 14, 2018: the Court of Appeals, Div Iii sent a Perfection Letter which laid out the appellate case schedule and requirements
- November 6, 2108: Branden Platter loses the general election to Arian Noma
- According to the Okanogan County Board of Commissioners’ Record of Proceedings dated November 13, 2018, Arian Noma was to take office on November 28, 2018
- November 28, 2018: Arian Noma takes office
- November 30, 2018: Okanogan County Prosecutor’s office files a Notice of Substitution of Counsel indicating that Prosecutor Arian Noma is counsel of record for the state
- December 18, 2018: Prosecutor Noma files a Motion to Extend Time to File. In his motion, Noma states,
- “The attorney for Appellant is newly elected to his position of Okanogan County Prosecuting Attorney. Due to the workload of the transition and a heavy case load and trial schedule, additional time is necessary to properly review the underlying case and issues in order to complete the Appellant’s opening brief. In addition, the prosecuting attorney needs time to investigate whether it is merited to conflict this case out of the entire office to avoid the look of impropriety pursuant to ethical standards and rules.”
- December 21, 2018: The Court of Appeals, Division Iii grants the motion; Noma has until February 19, 2019 to file the brief or take some sort of action including assigning the appellate case to a special prosecutor outside of the Okanogan County Prosecutor’s Office or withdraw the appeal for lack of merit.
- February 4, 2019: The prosecutor’s office files a Notice of Withdrawal and Substitution of Counsel for Appellant indicating Arian Noma is no longer the attorney of record for the State. The notice indicates Special Prosecutor Tamara Hanlon from the Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office is now the State’s counsel. Interesting to note, the notice is dated January 23, 2019 but was not filed until 13 days later.
- February 5, 2019: James Faire, through Attorney Stephen Pidgeon, is notified by the court that Ms. Hanlon has until March 22, 2019, to decide what to do with this case.
Investigation into Detective Kreg Sloan
Okanogan County Sheriff Tony Hawley
On August 8, 2018, Attorney Stephen Pidgeon demanded the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an administrative investigation into the actions of Detective Kreg Sloan that ultimately led to the Dismissal With Prejudice of the charges brought against James Faire. Frank Rogers, former County Sheriff, passed Attorney Pidgeon’s demand to Chief Criminal Deputy Steve Brown. Did Rogers think he could serve out his term and retire, hoping he would not have to deal with the egregious holes in the standard operating procedure of the sheriff’s office? Steve Brown is also no longer part of the sheriff’s office after his failed attempt at becoming the County Sheriff.
Okanogan County Sheriff Tony Hawley has a mess on his hands and frankly, one has to wonder if he knows the severity of the issues in his office. What does Prosecutor Arian Noma intend to do with the knowledge that pertinent defense data is not safely secured by the sheriff’s office? Detective Kreg Sloan’s sworn testimony in the Faire case should give pause and concern to the legal profession and the citizens in Okanogan County.
New Era or More of the Same?
Okanogan County Prosecutor’s Office continues to delay justice in the Faire case. Furthermore, the citizens of Okanogan County are forced to endure the continue expense of the persecution of an innocent James Faire. One thing is certain, Okanogan County Prosecutor Arian Noma is on the hook for inflicting further pain and suffering to James and Angela Faire.
Today, on the third anniversary of James Faire’s release from Okanogan County Jail, the Faires wonder how much longer will they be forced to endure the egregious abuse by the government.
