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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Robbery and Assault |
Sentence: |
20 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
4.25 |
Year Crime: |
2008 |
Year Convicted: |
2009 |
Year Cleared: |
2013 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Washington |
County or Region of Crime: |
Spokane |
City of Crime: |
Spokane |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Robert Larson, 29, Paul E. Statler, 22, and Tyler W. Gassman, 22, were wrongly convicted on February 17, 2009 in Spokane, Washington of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and drive-by shooting related to the armed robbery of two drug dealers in April 2008. The convictions of the three men were based on the testimony of jailhouse informant Matthew Dunham. In March 2009, a month after the men were convicted, Anthony Kongchunji wrote a letter to Statler's father stating that he conspired with Dunham to bring false allegations against Robert Larson, Paul Statler, and Tyler Gassman. Kongchunji's letter stated in part: "I thought that I should let you know that Paul, Tyler and Robert were not involved with any of the alleged incidents … because I was involved. The prosecution has threatened me with more charges if I was to get on the stand and tell my story.” In May 2009 the trial judge denied a new trial. The three defendants all had a credible alibi defense for the date of the alleged robbery, so the morning their trial was to start in January 2009 the prosecutor amended the complaint to change the date of the alleged robbery from April 15 to April 17, 2008 -- which was outside the time of their alibis. The prosecutor's action resulted in imposition of an $8,000 sanction against the Spokane County Prosecutors Office by Superior Court Judge Tari Eltzen and a delay in the trial for 30 days for the men's lawyers to prepare a defense basedon the new date of the alleged burglary. In March 2011 the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction by a 2 to 1 majority. In August 2012 the Washington Supreme Court reversed the sanction imposed by Judge Eltzen on the basis the prosecution's last minute alteration of the date of the burglary wasn't in "bad faith." On December 14, 2012 Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Price vacated the convictions of the three men for ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to investigate and discover prior to trial the telephone and work records that provided the men with an alibi for the prosecution's new April 17 date of the burglary, and thus raised significant doubt the jury would have convicted the men. Judge Price ordered a new trial and Statler and Gassman were released on December 14 and Larson a few days later. The prosecution declined to reprosecute the men, and the charges were dismissed on July 24, 2013. All three men filed claim for compensation under Washington's wrongful imprisonment statute, and in February 2015 those claims were denied. In June 2016 the Washington Court of Appeals reversed the trial judge's ruling on the basis he applied the wrong standard of proof to facts that can prove their innocence. (See, Larson v. State, 375 P. 3d 1096 (Wash. Ct of Appeals, 3rd Div. 2016) The three men filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named as defendants Spokane County and two Spokane County Sheriff's deputies. On September 20, 2016 the U.S. District Court judge denied the defendant's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. (See, Statler v. Spokane County, No. 2:15-CV-0332-TOR (Dist. Ct, ED Wash. 2016) In April 2017 Spokane County Superior Court Judge John Cooney ruled the men were “actually innocent” and eligible to file a claim for wrongful imprisonment compensation under Washington state law. On June 7, 2017 it was reported that Spokane County had agreed to settle the lawsuits for a total of $2.25 million -- $750,000 each, but they hadn't yet received their money because the paperwork had not yet been completed. Less legal fees and expenses the men may receive between $400,000 and $450,000 each." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjurious testimony by jailhouse snitch Matthew Dunham in exchange for a shorter sentence for a home invasion. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On December 14, 2012 Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Price vacated the convictions of the three men for ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to investigate and discover prior to trial the telephone and work records that provided the men with an alibi for the date of the burglary, and thus raised significant doubt the jury would have convicted the men. Judge Price ordered a new trial and Statler and Gassman were released on December 14 and Larson a few days later. The prosecution declined to reprosecute the men, and the charges were dismissed on July 24, 2013." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$750,000 (Spokane County, 6-7-2017)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
29 |
Age When Released: |
33 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Judge vacates convictions in disputed robbery, By Thomas Clouse (staff writer), Spokane Spokesman Review, December 14, 2012" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/dec/14/judge-vacates-convictions-disputed-robbery/ |
Information Source 2: |
"New trial denied in robbery, By Thomas Clouse (staff writer), Spokane Spokesman Review, May 21, 2009" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/may/21/new-trial-denied-in-robbery/ |
Information Source 3: |
"Court upends fines put on prosecutors, By Thomas Clouse (staff writer), Spokane Spokesman Review, August 24, 2012" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/aug/24/court-upends-fines-put-on-prosecutors/ |
Information Source 4: |
"State v. Gassman, 248 P. 3d 155 (Wash: Ct of Appeals, 3rd Div. 2011)" |
Information Location 4: |
"http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15510252893595812000&q=Tyler+W.+Gassman&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
Information Source 5: |
"Spokane County’s insurer offers $2.25 million settlement to three men wrongfully convicted of robbery, By Nina Culver, The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA), June 7, 2017" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/jun/07/spokane-countys-insurer-offers-225-million-settlem/ |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org