Deputy prosecutor Ione George said the Kitsap office reviewed the investigation against detective Glenda Nissen and decided not to charge her.
Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist asked Kitsap County to review the case so his office could avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. Lindquist’s chief criminal deputy, Mary Robnett, was the target of the threatening letter.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department conducted the criminal investigation.
George sent Robnett a letter last week explaining the decision.
“Under the law, we cannot file criminal charges just because we believe that a person committed a crime,” George wrote. “Rather, we must be able to prove the case to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. After reviewing this case, I have concluded that our office could not meet that burden of proof.”
Robnett provided a copy of the letter to The News Tribune on Tuesday.
“As a prosecutor, I understand the decision,” she said.
Nissen’s attorney, Joan Mell, hailed the decision as a vindication of her client.
“I think it’s heroic,” Mell said. “That case should have never even gone out for review.”
Nissen became a suspect in part because of an email she sent to News Tribune publisher David Zeeck shortly after midnight on June 7, 2010, from her county email address.
In the email, Nissen accused Lindquist of corruption. Nissen sent a second email to Zeeck at 3:50 a.m., asking him to disregard her earlier statements. The email was never published.
The death-threat letter to Robnett was postmarked June 7, 2010, and sent from Seattle to Robnett’s home address.
It begins with a misspelled question: “Are you a candidat?”
Eight Internet links follow, all leading to stories about prosecutors around the country who were shot or killed. The letter closes with another statement packed with misspellings:
“Yur decisions regardening my friend cannot be xcused. Yu were nawty, and yu deserve a similar fate as those abuve. Yu went two farr.”
Robnett said the letter was the only death threat she has received as a prosecutor. She forwarded it to sheriff’s detectives for review.
Records show sheriff’s detectives later learned of the emails Nissen had sent to Zeeck. Noting the proximity of the emails and the postmarked letter to Robnett, they zeroed in on Nissen and relayed the information about her possible involvement to Robnett.
Nissen is the subject of an internal investigation for allegedly using her county-issued smartphone for political matters, said deputy prosecutor Craig Adams, the sheriff’s legal adviser.
She was not the subject of an internal review in connection with the death threat, Adams said.
Lindquist later banned Nissen from his offices, saying he was looking out for the safety of Robnett.
That prompted Nissen to file a $2.5 million claim for damages against the county. The detective said Lindquist’s actions were retaliation for her opposition to his candidacy for prosecutor.
Nissen and the county settled the claim last month. The county agreed to pay $39,500 to Nissen’s lawyers to cover legal fees and the cost of hiring a mediator. No money went to Nissen.
Lindquist also agreed to lift Nissen’s ban from his offices as part of the settlement.
Nissen agreed to release the county from “all claims of any nature … arising out of the underlying events,” the settlement agreement states.
Robnett said Tuesday she’s glad Lindquist restricted Nissen from the office when he did. She also said she’s appreciative that the prosecutor’s office now has a new security policy that requires all visitors – including law enforcement officers – to be escorted.
Robnett also said she has hired a lawyer to explore the possibility of filing a civil lawsuit against Nissen.
Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644
adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
Staff writer Sean Robinson contributed to this report.
