PORT TOWNSEND — A man will not be charged with making false statements to police in connection with an underage drinking party at his home, according to the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office referred the case to Clallam County because of a potential conflict of interest.
The man — who has not been named because he hasn’t been charged — is married to a woman who has been a contract employee for Jefferson County Juvenile Probation, said Michael Haas, Jefferson County prosecuting attorney.
The two adults, both 45, were on the premises during a late-night party May 31 at their Sutter Street home just outside the city limits. The party was after the Port Townsend High School prom.
Clallam County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jesse Espinoza, who is serving as a special prosecutor in the case, said in late June he would not charge the couple with providing alcohol to the minors because he would be unable to prove in court they had permitted the underage drinking.
However, Espinoza continued exploring the possibility of charging the husband with making false statements to deputies on scene that his wife was not home, he said.
When three deputies arrived, they found what appeared to be “a large number of juveniles outside a house, and there was alcohol present,” according to a statement by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Detective Brett Anglin.
According to a police report, deputies asked one of the juveniles whether there was an adult on the premises. The juvenile went into the home and came out a few minutes later to report that no one was inside.
When deputies requested permission to see for themselves, the juvenile re-entered the home and emerged with an adult male, who gave a statement indicating his wife was probably not home.
Espinoza was tasked with determining if he could prove that statement was false.
The wife on June 2 told Jefferson County’s Juvenile Court Administrator Barbara Carr, her supervisor, that she was home during the party.
After poring through witness statements and police reports, Espinoza decided he would be unable to prove the man had made false statements.
“We decided it would be inappropriate to file misdemeanor charges based on the available physical evidence [and] potential witnesses,” he said Monday.
“At this point, we are not going to require further investigation [or] try to find DNA or fingerprints to prove [the wife] was there. It just would not be appropriate.”
In this case, “one of the things you would have to prove is that the [wife] was actually in the house when [the husband] said that she was probably not,” Espinoza said.
“So even if she was seen earlier that evening, that doesn’t really matter. You have to prove she actually wasn’t there when he made the statement.”
And the woman, by law, does not have to testify against her husband because they are married.
“She would be a witness against him, because she could testify ‘I was there’ at such time, but he has the spousal privilege to prevent her from testifying against him,” Espinoza said.
“There is a possibility that some of the kids might have” been able to provide such testimony, but “there is no evidence of anything . . . at that exact time we could actually prove.”
The wife’s two-year contract will not be terminated, Carr said, noting her exemplary service as a contractor since July 2000.
“She has had over 22 years of associated work with our county, and she has had absolutely no disciplinary referrals. Her work has been great,” she said Monday.
Carr conducted an internal investigation into the wife’s conduct in cooperation with the superior court and Jefferson County Administrator Philip Morley.
“After we concluded the internal investigation, we determined we did not feel that it rose to the level where termination was appropriate,” Carr said.
However, the woman’s contract has been amended to include a code of ethics and standards.
“I think this will clarify it for any issues that we may have in the future.”
The amendment also will be added to all contracts issued through the Jefferson County Juvenile Court when they are renewed for 2016, Carr said.
Because the wife works extensively at Proctor House — a less-restrictive detention unit for eligible juvenile offenders designed to provide an alternative to standard detention for Jefferson County youth — no additional youth had been admitted since early June.
Juveniles already housed there were allowed to “finish out the days they were serving, and once the house became empty, then we basically put it on hold,” Carr said.
Proctor House, located in Port Townsend, reopened Monday.
About 30 citations for minor in possession of alcohol were issued at the party.
About 25 files were forwarded to Haas’ office, 12 of them concerning juveniles younger than 18.
The rest were for people older than 18 but younger than 21, the legal drinking age.
They have not been identified because of their ages.
“All the cases that we had have been processed at this time,” Haas said Monday.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
