Charles Andrew Stocker, 50, accused of aiding and abetting drug trafficking while employed at the Aberdeen city jail in 2016, was found innocent by a jury in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on March 14.
Court spokesman Bill McCool confirmed the verdict the following day.
“We are very pleased and relieved Mr. Stocker was vindicated,” said Stocker’s Federal public defender Colin Fieman. “What emerged during the trial was that a lot of allegations leveled against him were the result of errors and incompetence on the part of the Grays Harbor County Drug Task Force, and we’re relieved we got that sorted out.”
Fieman said the jury deliberated a total of about four hours between the afternoon of March 13 and the following morning to reach a verdict of not guilty.
In March of 2016, the Grays Harbor Drug Task Force informed the FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration alleging Stocker was providing sensitive law enforcement information to known drug traffickers in Aberdeen and elsewhere. Two known drug dealers told federal investigators Stocker would tip them off about Grays Harbor Drug Task Force operations concerning them.
“The allegations about leaking information, when we were able to thoroughly investigate them, it was the Drug Task Force itself that was being sloppy with their informant information,” claimed Fieman. “He was made a scapegoat even though he didn’t have access to the information (he was alleged to have leaked). I know it’s a small community out there, and the Drug Task Force plays an important role. With additional oversight in the future we may be able to prevent this kind of miscarriage of justice from happening again.”
Stocker maintained his innocence throughout the investigation and trial. Initial reports that Stocker was placed on administrative leave at the beginning of the investigation were clarified by Aberdeen Deputy Police Chief Dave Timmons on Tuesday.
“He resigned at the very beginning of the process, he has never been on administrative leave,” said Timmons. “We became aware of all the accusations after the FBI had already executed its search warrant. When we began our internal investigation he chose to resign.”
When asked if the Aberdeen Police Department had any comment on the verdict, Timmons said, “I have a lot of faith in the system,” noting Stocker was found not guilty by a jury.
When asked to comment, Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott said because it was a federal investigation, any comments would come from the FBI.
Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle, provided the following statement:
“Consistent with Department of Justice policy, federal prosecutors bring criminal cases when they believe the admissible evidence proves a defendant has committed a federal crime. The standard for a criminal conviction, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, is a high burden that we accept and embrace. We respect the jury’s decision.”
