THE MISSING LINKEDIN MESSAGE

THE MISSING LINKEDIN MESSAGE: EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE 

WITHHELD BY Clark County PROSECUTOR

     It's hard to imagine the weight hanging over someone's head that is on the lam or thought they got away with murder.  Is that day coming for Sergeant Rick Torres who murdered Jason Wilkinson May 8, 2005 while working for the Vancouver Police Department in Vancouver, Washington?  Are the walls starting to close in on Torres?  

     Former Sergeant Rick Torres murdered Jason Wilkinson on May 8, 2005.  The investigation is  and has been a covered-up by Clark County Sheriff's Office and the Vancouver Police Department since the day Officer Torres murdered Jason Wilkinson.  After the cover-up of the murder for Clark County Sheriff's Office the VPD did their own internal affairs investigation and found Torres violated department policy for conducting an unauthorized chase.  This was the second for Torres during his employ at VPD.  He was given 2 days off without pay.

     

     A review of Torres earnings leading up to the shooting reveal that he was receiving 1/4 of his pay the 3 months leading up to the shooting.  It is unclear why his pay was cut the three months preceding the murder.

An interview request has been sent to the former VPD Police Chief, Brian Martinek.  There has been no response.  Martinek now runs a non-profit half-way house, receiving public and private funds.

In July of 2016 Sergeant Torres received a LinkedIn message from a defendant he was scheduled to testify against on August 10, 2016.  The message referenced the death of Jason Wilkinson.  The defendant was going to questioning Torres about the shooting of Jason Wilkinson as a pro se litigant.

Sergeant Torres was sued by the family of Jason Wilkinson.  The ruling reads like a probable cause affidavit.

Judge Settle's opines:

• ".....there is no question that Torres acted with the unconstitutional purpose to harm, terrorize and in fact kill Wilkinson.  After Key walked to the front of the minivan and the minivan began to back away from the telephone pole, Key and Torres looked at each other, seemingly acknowledged each other; then Torres walked to the passenger side of the minivan and effectively executed Wilkinson by shooting him eleven times at close range.  Torres shot Wilkinson when the minivan was traveling at a slow speed in the exact opposite direction from where Key. stood.  Even after Wilkinson dropped his hands from the steering wheel and slumped in the driver's seat mortally wounded, Torres continued to fire into Wilkinson as the minivan coasted in reverse.

Based on this version of events, which is supported by admissible evidence a reasonable fact finder could conceivably conclude that Officer Torres intended to harm, terrorize or kill Jason Wilkinson and therefore acted beyond the scope of a legitimate law enforcement purpose. 

The defendant contacted Torres in July via LinkedIn asking him to provide information about the Wilkinson v. Torres case prior to the upcoming trial.  The defendant's lawyer had not interviewed Torres and the original misdemeanor arrest was February 11, 2015, a year and a half prior.    

An expert witness was going to testify at the August 10, 2016 trial that the weapons training Torres as a US Marine from 1987 through 1991, and his 6 years with VPD as a SWAT officer counter his conflicting statements, rendering Sergeant Torres version of events as implausible.  The expert witness was going to show that Torres fired 11 rounds into Wilkinson from approximately 8 feet away.  For comparison, the average size bedroom in the US is approximately 12 x 12.  Taking one step in the bedroom would approximate the distance Sergeant Torres was from Wilkinson.

After learning in July that he was going to have to testify against the defendant, SergeantTorres resigns from the Clark County Sheriff's Office.  Neither he, nor the State respond to the LinkedIn message sent by the defendant to Torres asking about the Wilkinson shooting.

Enclosed is the resignation letter from Torres.  Torres wanted to "quell the rumors until I talk with my guys".  The State never disclosed Torres resignation nor did it disclose that Torres resigned under a cloud of "rumors"

The email references a meeting between KC Kasberg, Sergeant Torres and Breanne Nelson on August 3rd the day before.

That same day, DPA Lacey Blaire called the "victim".  The "victim" called the DPA back on Friday August 5 and the motion to extend the trial was filed the same day.  The trial subpoenas had been sent to the witnesses July 26, 2016.  The pretrial hearing was scheduled for August 8, 2016 and the misdemeanor assault trial was scheduled for August 10th.

The only reasonable inference is that Sergeant Torres told Kasberg and Nelson about the LinkedIn message sent from the defendant to Torres earlier in July.  In turn, either Nelson or Kasburg called the DPA and informed her to stop the August 10 trial, which was 5 days away.   Clark County could not put Torres on the stand due to the fact they had evidence they hired a LE officer that was witnessed by at least one eyewitness murdering Jason Wilkinson.

The liability for Clark County would be staggering if they would be held liable by the defendants prosecuted where Torres was involved.  All the trials for the defendants where Torres was involved would either get a new trial or be released.  This liability would date back to May 8, 2005, when Torres murdered Jason Wilkinson.

In an email between Clark County's risk manager and other Clark County officials, identified Torres as being a liability to the County.  He was named in a harassment suit filed against him by another employee.  Clark County settled with Erin Nolan shortly after the defendant pled guilty to a crime he did not commit.  The risk management email identifies this incident as the second time Torres came up due to being a liability financially to Clark County due to his behavior.  The prosecutor did not disclose this email to defendant and it was found, like most all other documents, through public records request.

The DPA is required to turn over all exculpatory evidence to the defendant under Brady v. Maryland, a case that deems it violates the constitutional right of a defendant if favorable evidence is withheld from the defendant.  The Prosecuting attorney's office has completely disregarded all rules.

FRAMED BY HIS OWN LAWYER

The defendant hired David McDonald, a Portland, Or. Attorney shortly after he was arrested.

 November 19th, the defendant asked his attorney to gather the personnel files of Sergeant Torres because he believed Torres to be a dirty cop and arrested him without probable cause.

November 24, 2015, the defendant found the Wilkinson v. Torres case and brought it to McDonalds attention.  McDonald did not file a motion to dismiss nor did he ask the court to judicially recognize the case in order to get it into the record.

Years have passed since the defendant was arrested, and made a plea deal to avoid being framed for a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by his new court-appointed attorney after the withdrawal of David McDonald.

To add insult to injury, Judge Zimmerman ordered a psychological evaluation of the defendant because he believed the Federal Government was trying to kill him.  Instead, it was Sergeant Torres who was hired by the defendants own divorce attorney, Mike Roe, from Vancouver Washington.   Roe was having an affair with the defendants wife and knew a dirty police officer they could hire to kill the defendant....in order to receive over $400,000 in death benefits and $9,000 per month for the "victim" in the case.

David McDonald slow-walked the misdemeanor case for 17 months knowing that Sergeant Torres murdered Jason Wilkinson.  When the defendant attempted to go pro se, Judge Zimmerman ordered the psychological evaluation based on the defendant's fear that the Federal Government was trying to kill him, when in actuality, it was Sergeant Torres who is a CIA wet-worker (assassin).

The defendant was run off of a cliff after being chased down a dirt road in rural Skamania County June 4, 2015.  The following day he and his divorce attorney, Mike Roe, were going to depose the "victim" in this case.  Obviously, the defendant did not make it to the deposition, as he was laying in the bottom of a ravine and nearly died.

Torres was not at work at the time the defendant was ran off of the cliff and none of the defendant's attorneys have ever interviewed Torres about his whereabouts during this time nor the events surrounding the murder of Jason Wilkinson.

Clark County will not release former Sergeant Torres personnel files, pre-employment background check, lie detector test results, nor the questions asked of Torres during the lie detector test prior to him getting hired by CCSO in 2013, eight years after he murdered Jason Wilkinson.

It is not plausible that the Prosecuting Attorney just forgot about sending the information that they hired a murderer, Rick Torres.  They investigated Torres 2005 shooting, covered it up, then hired him 8 years later knowing this was in his background, and didn't disclose it.

A company Man is rewarded for following the rules.  The better the Company Man, the less it matters what the rules are, how ethical they are, how just they are....how humane they are.