His face was split open and his eyes were swollen shut. Strapped to a medic’s gurney, Kevin Tracey could barely talk, managing only the words: “Two men… they took my truck. Then they beat me up.”
“Oh boy, he was bad,” Skamania County sheriff’s Deputy Steve Rasmussen recalled, referring to his encounter with Tracey, a cross-country skier who was clubbed and strangled on Feb. 9, 2009. “They beat him within an inch of his life.”
Rasmussen was the first officer to respond to Dougan Falls near the Washougal River. He interviewed Tracey as he was being treated by emergency personnel.
The deputy’s testimony Tuesday afternoon came on the second-day of Michael D. Collins’ trial in Skamania County Superior Court. The Vancouver-area man, 34, is charged with first-degree attempted murder and first-degree robbery.
Several witnesses testified for the prosecution Tuesday. The state hopes to wrap up its case today with testimony from Teven Collins, Michael Collins’ 17-year-old son, who was also charged in the attack. On Friday, Teven Collins pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree attempted murder in exchange for his testimony against his father.
The father and son were featured on “America’s Most Wanted,” and investigators used a tip generated from the TV show to arrest them last March in Ensenada, Mexico.
Rasmussen’s gripping details drew objections from Collins’ attorney, Michael Thompson, who said the deputy was too sensational and his information was not supported by his police report.
“There’s nothing about blood and guts in this (police) report,” Thompson said. “He’s embellishing it like he’s (horror novelist) Stephen King.”
Thompson renewed his objections when Skamania County sheriff’s Detective Tim Garrity next took the stand.
Garrity testified that one of the Collinses had admitted to using credit cards belonging to Tracey after allegedly stealing the victim’s wallet and fleeing in his SUV.
That information was not disclosed in a police report and was hearsay, Thompson contended.
“I think the last two officers have gone over the line,” he said to Judge E. Thompson Reynolds. “What we have here is a well-meaning, overzealous attempt to get Michael Collins.”
Thompson then called for Reynolds to declare a mistrial. The judge denied the request, saying there was no evidence the testimony would result in an unfair trial. And any information that was hearsay, the judge said, was stricken from the record.
Continuing with his testimony, Garrity told the jury that Michael Collins had admitted to investigators to having a confrontation with Tracey. But, the detective said, Collins claimed it was because Tracey had accosted Teven Collins — and not the other way around.
“He told me that he and his son, Teven, had been camping at the Dougan Falls area,” Garrity said. “He said Teven was talking to a man with a black SUV. He told me that Tracey grabbed Teven’s groin and a fight ensued. And that they left in his vehicle.”
Tracey had provided a much different account, saying the men approached him and asked for directions before robbing him and beating him senseless.
During the morning’s cross-examination of Tracey, Thompson questioned the initial description Tracey gave police of his attacker. He said Tracey characterized Collins as weighing about170 pounds, while the defendant actually weighs 200 pounds.
Thompson also raised the issue of when Tracey positively identified Collins as the attacker. He said Tracey was never asked to pick Collins out of a police lineup after an arrest was made.
“The first time you identified Mr. Collins was yesterday, correct?” Thompson asked.
“Yes,” Tracey answered.
The jury trial is expected to take a break on Thursday and conclude Friday.
Prosecutors initially thought the case would be Michael Collins’ third strike under Washington’s law for persistent offenders. In that case, a conviction would result in life imprisonment, said Skamania County Deputy Prosecutor Chris Lanz. However, as prosecutors examined the law further, they realized Collins’ Clark County conviction for child molestation didn’t count as a strike because it happened in 1992, when Collins was a juvenile.
Collins has another strike after being convicted of second-degree assault in Clark County in 2000.
Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.
