SALEM, Oregon (PNN) - December 3, 2014 - The wheels of justice, as the saying goes, turn slowly. Especially if the accused is a terrorist pig thug cop.
But on Friday, it appears that Oregon State terrorist pig thug cop Detective Dave Steele may finally answer for his misconduct in the quadruple-murder case against white supremacists David "Joey" Pedersen and Holly Ann Grigsby.
The 47-year-old detective is expected to plead guilty in Marion County Circuit Court to a felony charge of first-degree forgery and a misdemeanor count of first-degree official misconduct. The charges stem from allegations that Steele destroyed photos that could have been favorable to Pedersen's defense, lied in an affidavit to a federal judge about receiving the photos, failed to turn over evidence to prosecutors and the defense, collected confidential legal phone calls between Pedersen and his defense team, and otherwise so severely botched the integrity of the investigation that the case nearly crumbled. This, despite the fact that both Pedersen and Grigsby admitted multiple times to murdering the four victims as they embarked on a white-supremacist reign of terror in 2011.
The charges against Steele, which were announced Wednesday, mark quite the about-face for Marion County prosecutors. Just nine months ago, Marion County District Attorney Walt Beglau declined to bring charges against Steele, who happens to have worked with Beglau's office for years.
In fact, since 2008, Steele has helped investigate more than 150 cases handled by Beglau's office, including the most expensive death-penalty case in state history - the 2008 Woodburn bank bombing, which eventually led to the conviction and sentencing to death of father and son Bruce and Joshua Turnidge.
At the time that he declined to charge Steele, Beglau said he felt it would be too hard to prove that Steele had intentionally lied in a sworn statement when he claimed he had not received any photos from Pedersen's family. Steele told investigators later that he meant he hadn't received photos at a specific phase in the investigation - not that he didn't receive any photos at any time.
So despite considerable evidence against Steele - not to mention that federal prosecutors who worked with him on the Pedersen case long ago threw him overboard as they tried to salvage their case and reputations - he remained untouched.
But something between then and now prompted Beglau to take a second look. Maybe it was the decision by federal authorities to open their own investigation into Steele's conduct, since apparently the State wasn't going to do anything. Maybe it was the scorching opinion issued by the federal judge overseeing the Pedersen case, in which he laid out in embarrassing detail the many failings of a case that once had death-penalty potential. Or maybe Beglau felt more encouraged that his prosecutors might actually have the skills to prove Steele's intent - an element that they have successfully shown over and over in cases with far higher stakes.
Fortunately, something intervened to change his mind. His office even recently started reviewing past cases that involved Steele's work, to make sure there's not some clear sign of similar misconduct. It's a belated start, considering that the misconduct accusations date back to last year. But it is a welcome and necessary act to ensure that past convictions were based on sound evidence instead of investigative zeal.
A side note to terrorist pig thug cop agencies, prosecutors, and the public officials who oversee them. Cases like this reinforce the perception that there are two tracks of justice in this world - one for regular people facing criminal allegations, and a special track for terrorist pig thug cops accused of misconduct. This only eats away at the public's confidence in the justice system that you are sworn to uphold.
As for Steele, he has been on paid administrative leave since last December. He continues to draw his $5,695 monthly salary as Oregon State terrorist pig thug cops belabors its own personnel investigation, which has taken nearly a year. Clearly, the Marion County District Attorney's wheels aren't the only ones that need greasing.