TACOMA, Wash. — Testimony resumed Monday afternoon in the criminal trial of Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer.
Troyer faces two misdemeanor charges after he allegedly claimed on an officer line to 911 dispatch that Sedrick Altheimer, a newspaper carrier, threatened to kill him in January 2021.
It was the 11th day of the trial.
Attorneys spent most of Monday morning discussing whether to admit new evidence pertaining to Troyer's personnel file, which was sent to the state last week.
Kitsap County District Court Judge Jeffrey J. Jahns ruled it could not be used as impeachment evidence. However, the court ruled it could be included as character evidence. Because of that, the court also allowed photos of Troyer's family to be entered into evidence - reversing a previous ruling that didn't allow the photos.
That evidence included an interaction with someone over Facebook messenger who told Troyer his deputies "got off easy" and that they should be in jail. Troyer, who said he took that message as concerning, responded by saying he would relay the message to police in King County, according to testimony given Monday.
On Jan. 27, 2021, Troyer called 911 on a line used by law enforcement to gather routine information and requests and said that he “caught” Altheimer in his driveway and “he just threatened to kill me,” according to probable cause documents.
Troyer allegedly retracted those statements when police arrived.
During cross-examination by prosecutors, Troyer explained he initially thought Altheimer could be homeless because of the state of his vehicle and that he could see items of some kind piled up in the vehicle's rear window. He said he did not see newspapers.
According to probable cause documents, Troyer called Altheimer a "porch pirate" while he was on the phone with a dispatcher. Troyer said he said he initially thought Altheimer was stealing items, but does consider the term to be derogatory and said it was not related to race.
"It's a term I think everyone knows for people who steal stuff off people's porches," Troyer said, adding that he was trying to explain to dispatch what he thought he was seeing at the time.
The state and defense both rested Monday.
Troyer faces one charge of false reporting and one charge of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant. Troyer pleaded not guilty to the charges in October 2021.
The defense filed a motion to dismiss the charge of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant. Judge Jahns will likely rule on the motion on Tuesday.
The defense previously filed a motion to dismiss the charge of false reporting. Jahns denied the state's motion Monday, ruling that jurors could find Troyer guilty, assuming that all the evidence the state presented was accurate.
On Dec. 5, SouthSound 911 Dispatcher Leah Heiberg, Darren Steiner, who owns the newspaper distribution company that contracts Altheimer, and Tacoma Police Officer Zachary Hobbs, who spoke with Troyer at the scene, testified.
On Dec. 6, Altheimer testified to what happened on Jan. 27, saying he never made threats to the sheriff.
Chad Lawless, the Tacoma police officer who spoke with Troyer at the scene of the 2021 confrontation, also testified in court Dec. 7.
Troyer took the stand Dec. 8 to explain his side of the story. His wife, Wendy, also testified.
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