THE PROSECUTION OF GARRETT SMITH: TRIAL BY KABUKI THEATER
In American politics, Kabuki has
become a metaphor for “posturing” or “a performance in which nothing
substantive is done. The mask symbolizes a suggestion that the audience—or
public—is being deceived.
On December 3, 2014, John Garrett
Smith was convicted in Clark County, Washington of attempted murder in the
second degree, and sentenced to twelve years in prison. His conviction was overturned on appeal in
October 2016, only to be reinstated in November 2017 by the Supreme Court of
Washington State. The state courts have debated only the legal technicalities
of the case, they have yet to address the alleged fraud that led to Smith’s
wrongful conviction. Vancouver Police
Detective Sandra Aldridge built the State’s case against Garrett Smith on a
foundation of “Kabuki Theater”.
There is no better way to manufacture
a criminal case narrative and ensure an airtight prosecution than to submit
multiple police reports under the names of other officers, each one
substantiating the claims made by the lead detective. That is reportedly what was
done in Smith’s case. According to
documents discovered through recent public records disclosure, Detective Aldridge
continues to utilize the same alleged pattern and practice of misconduct today.
Vancouver Police
Officer Ly Rotha Yong was first to arrive at the Smith home at 11:27 PM on June
2nd, 2013. According to case records, Yong was heavily involved in
locating, arresting and transporting Smith to jail in the early morning hours
of June 3rd, and was not cleared from Clark County Jail booking until approximately
3 AM.
When Officer Yong
returned to the precinct, she submitted a half-page, handwritten statement of
probable cause for the arrest of John Garrett Smith before finishing her shift
and heading home. Hours later, when Detective Aldridge reported to work, she was
assigned to investigate the Smith case. Aldridge claims then to have reviewed a
6-page single-spaced police report submitted by Officer Yong complete with
crime scene photos taken at several locations the previous night. The report
demonstrated an unusually detailed knowledge of the events leading up to and
during the altercation between Smith and his wife, and included in depth commentary
on Mr. and Mrs. Smith's marital relationship and financial history.
In an audio-taped
defense interview, Officer Yong stated that she had minimal communication with
Smith’s wife and step-daughter the night of the incident. In the same
interview, Yong was unable to identify which pictures she had taken, stated
someone else attached the pictures to the report, did not know which other
officers responded to the Smith home, and identified the wrong bedroom as the
scene of the alleged crime.
By 9 AM on June 3rd, approximately ten hours after the alleged crime occurred,
and less than two hours after being assigned to the case, Detective Aldridge
was at the jail conducting an unrecorded, pre-arraignment interrogation of
Garrett Smith despite Smith inquiring twice about his right to have an attorney
present. Aldridge chronicled her conclusions from that interview, including her
determination of Smith’s absolute guilt, in a 13-page police report as a
companion piece to the 6-page report attributed to Officer Yong.
The third in the
trilogy of finely-woven-together narrative reports was submitted weeks later in
the name of Aldridge’s immediate supervisor, Sgt. Andy Hamlin. The 7-page single-spaced
additional report, credited to but not written by Sgt. Hamlin, included
elaborate explanations meant to smooth over some of the inconsistencies that
had already surfaced.
While Detective
Aldridge built a cohesive drama in three parts allegedly to enter fraudulently
into record as the corroborating testimony of three separate law enforcement
officers, the alleged fabrications created a bumpy road during witness
interviews, pre-trial hearings and at trial. Sgt. Hamlin and Officer Yong were
not able to accurately testify to what had been written on their behalf by
Kabuki performer, Detective Aldridge. The Prosecuting Attorney called Aldridge
back to the stand 7 times during trial –more than any other witness for prosecution
or defense—to “rehabilitate” testimony made by her colleagues and other State’s
witnesses that conflicted with the narrative Aldridge reportedly created.
Detective Aldridge’s alleged impersonation of other law enforcement officers is
just one in a list of problems with the State’s case against John Garrett Smith
that raises serious ethical questions. It may be common practice for
officers to write police reports for other officers. However, the example
here demonstrates an escalation of alleged dishonesty that, if founded, would
qualify as subornation of perjury and fraud upon the court. This alleged bad
act, and others committed by Detective Sandra Aldridge—including alleged perjury,
alleged witness intimidation, and alleged fabrication of evidence—effectively
and allegedly deprived John Garrett Smith of his right to a fair trial.
Editor’s Note: Anyone with information on Detective
Sandra Aldridge or other aspects of the John Garrett Smith case is urged to
contact the US~Observer or email editor@usobserver.com
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