The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Thursday dropped a slew of charges — including attempted murder — filed against two men accused in the stabbing of an acquaintance.
Vancouver defense attorney Shon Bogar told The Columbian that he received an email shortly before noon from the prosecution, explaining that the case against his client, Troy D. Meyers, and his co-defendant, Michael Conley, had been dismissed. The prosecution cited the dismissal as being “in the interest of justice,” court records show.
Conley, 50, and Meyers, 47, were facing charges of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, first-degree kidnapping and intimidating a witness. Meyers was also charged with tampering with a witness and possession of methamphetamine.
The charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning they could be refiled at a later date.
Bogar said he was surprised by the news, because during a hearing last week, he had asked a judge to dismiss the case, but the prosecution objected.
To his knowledge, nothing had changed since that hearing, he said, and there hadn’t been any new evidence shared with the defense.
He asked the prosecution if the decision to dismiss has anything to do with Clark County sheriff’s Detective Kevin Harper — the lead on the case — who’s under criminal investigation. However, Bogar has not received a response confirming that, he said.
“The prosecution has the obligation to seek justice, and I thank them for doing so here. While I do not know what finally prompted this decision, it took courage to dismiss the case,” Bogar said in an email. “We look forward to addressing the other charges and a final determination of all the connections between Detective Harper and the allegations against my client.”
The nature of the case involving Harper has not been disclosed.
Calls to Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik and the prosecutor who was handling the men’s case were not returned Thursday afternoon.
Meyers and Conley were scheduled for trial in January, but due to a delay in their case — caused in part by the ongoing investigation into Harper — the trial was pushed back to Feb. 21. Clark County Superior Court Judge Daniel Stahnke had also granted the men, who had been in custody since fall 2015, supervised release.
Only Conley was released, however, because Meyers has two other pending cases and is serving a nearly 10-year sentence in a drug possession and distribution case, according to court documents.
Stahnke reached his decision after Bogar filed a motion to dismiss the case on the premise that the prosecution had not turned over evidence favorable to the defense, also known as a Brady violation. Bogar argued the lack of information about Harper, among other concerns, was delaying the case and violating his client’s right to effective counsel.
Conley’s attorney piggy-backed on the motion.
Although Stahnke did not find the prosecution committed any misconduct or a Brady violation, he did voice concerns about the delay and lack of information regarding Harper’s situation.
Harper has worked as a detective for the sheriff’s office for nearly two decades. He was placed on leave Sept. 26 following allegations of misconduct. The agency has not released details about the allegations, but said that if they are sustained, they would constitute violations of the sheriff’s office’s policies and could result in criminal charges. The Washington State Patrol’s Criminal Investigations Division is looking into the allegations.
Deputy Prosecutor James Smith indicated at Meyer’s and Conley’s hearing last week that it’s likely the investigation won’t be completed until later in January.
Other impacts unclear
It’s unclear how many other cases have come before the courts for arguments related to the ongoing investigation into Harper, or if the status of those cases changed.
Defense attorney Jeff Staples raised similar concerns Thursday over the Harper investigation on behalf of his client Ruben Blancas. Blancas is also facing an attempted-murder charge for allegedly trying to kill his estranged wife. Staples asked that Blancas’ $1.5 million bail be reduced due to the delay in his case.
Judge Derek Vanderwood denied the request, however, because there are several factors delaying Blancas’ case, not solely the Harper issue.
Staples also requested that Vanderwood order Cmdr. John Horch with the sheriff’s office to be questioned by the attorneys, because he apparently knows the preliminary facts that led to Harper’s suspension. The same request was made and granted in Meyer’s and Conley’s case, before it was dismissed.
