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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Robbery and Burglary |
Sentence: |
16-1-2 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
10 |
Year Crime: |
2003 |
Year Convicted: |
2003 |
Year Cleared: |
2013 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Washington |
County or Region of Crime: |
King |
City of Crime: |
Auburn |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Brandon Olebar, AKA Brandon Redhawk Olebar, was wrongly convicted on November 3, 2003 of robbery and burglary of a man at his home Auburn, Washington. Olebar's prosecution was based on an eyewitnesses identification that he was one of the men who broke into the home of his sister's ex-boyfriend and beat him unconcious on February 26, 2003. The victim told police that his attackers had "feather" facial tattoos, and they stole cash, jewelry, a DVD player and other items. Two days after the attack he identified Olebar from a photo montage as one of his assailants -- even though Olebar doesn't have a facial tatoo. During Olebar's trial that about eight men were involved in the attack, and he recognized Olebar as one of them. After his conviction by a jury, Olebar was sentenced to 16-1/2 years in prison. A post-conviction investigation by the Innocents Project Northwest uncovered the new evidence that three of the men involved signed sworn affidavits that Olebar wasn't involved. The King County District Attorney's Office agreed to support vacating Olebar's conviction and dismissal of his charges based on the thinness of the evidence the jury relied on to convict him, and the new evidence of affidavits by persons who claimed to have participated in the home invasion robbery who asserted Olebar wasn't involved, and the new evidence by a social scientist that the victim's identification of Olebar was suspect. The DA's Office recognized that the affidavits were somewhat tainted by the fact that the statute of limitations for prosecution of the person's admitted participation in the crime had expired. The DA's Office filed a petition to vacate Olebar's convictions, which was granted on December 20, 2013 and the charges were dismissed. Olebar was released. Olebar filed a claim for compensation under Washington wrongful imprisonment statute enacted in 2013. On September 26, 2014 Olebar was awarded $496,712 for his 3,626 days imprisoned, and his attorneys were awarded $49,671 for their work on his case. Between July 2015 and January 2016 Olebar was arrested four times for the commission of separate crimes: On July 31, 2015 Olebar was arrested for the burglary of a KOA campground in Kent, Washington and he was also found in possession of methamphetamine and other drugs; On August 4, 2015 Olebar was arrested for trying to return stolen items to a West Seattle Home Depot; On August 17, 2015 Olebar was arrested in a Taco Time parking lot in Seattle when he was found sitting in the driver's seat of a cadillac with a meth pipe in his lap. An informant told federal authorities that Olebar was dealing methamphetamine and carrying firearms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives set up a sting operation. Olebar then sold a stolen SKS-style rifle to an informant, and he sold a pistol and methamphetamines to to an undercover BATF agent. A search warrant was obtained for Olebar's home when resulted in the seizure of five firearms and drugs. Olebar had felony theft convictions unrelated to his 2003 robbery and burglary convictions he had beed exonerated of in 2013. Olebar was arrested on January 8, 2016 by federal agents, and charged with drug charges and being a felon in possession of firearms. On September 22, 2017 Olebar was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in federal prison after he pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to being a felon in possession of firearms." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"The King County DA's Office agreed to support vacating Olebar's conviction and dismissal of his charges ased on the thinness of the evidence the jury relied on to convict him, and the new evidence of affidavits by persons who claimed to have participated in the home invasion robbery who asserted Olebar wasn't involved (which affidavits were somewhat tainted by the fact the statute of limitations for prosecution of the person's admitted participation had expired), and the new evidence by a social scientist that the victim's identification of Olebar was suspect." |
Defendant Aided By: |
Innocence Project Northwest |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$496,712 (State of Washington, Sept. 26, 2014)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
19 |
Age When Released: |
29 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Native American (Indian) |
Information Source 1: |
"Wrongly convicted King County man released after 10 years in prison, By Mike Carter, The Seattle Times, December 23, 2013" |
Information Location 1: |
http://laist.com/2013/12/22/la_mans_murder_conviction_overturne.php |
Information Source 2: |
"The Exoneration of Brandon Olebar: A prosecutor considers one his office got wrong, By Mark Larson, The Marshall Project, February 13, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/02/13/the-exoneration-of-brandon-olebar |
Information Source 3: |
"Wrongfully convicted Seattle man awarded nearly $500,000, By Steve Miletich, Seattle Times, September 26, 2014" |
Information Location 3: |
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/09/wrongfully-convicted-seattle-man-awarded-nearly-500000/ |
Information Source 4: |
"No ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card for exonerated Seattle man: After decade wrongly behind bars, exoneree sentenced for new federal crimes, By Levi Pulkkinen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 25, 2017" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/No-Get-Out-of-Jail-Free-card-for-exonerated-12227983.php |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org