Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster has grave concerns about the Willits Police Department’s hiring of Jacob Jones, having learned of sustained allegations of the officer’s dishonesty during his tenure with the Eureka Police Department.
In a scathing, incredulous 2,400-word letter to Willits Police Chief Scott Warnock, Eyster expresses dismay at Jones’ hiring despite the sustained allegations that he lied to superiors in an attempt to hide “defective or incompetent” police work while in Eureka last year and anger that Warnock didn’t inform him of Jones’ past, leaving Mendocino County’s top prosecutor to learn about them through an Aug. 29 article in the North Coast Journal (“Light in Dark Places”). In the letter, Eyster goes into detail to explain how the U.S. Supreme Court case of Brady v. Maryland requires prosecutors to turn over any exculpatory evidence they have in a case, which subsequent courts have determined includes any evidence of past instances of dishonesty by the investigating officers.
“Words cannot adequately express how disappointed I am that you failed to notify me or, for that matter, anybody in my office of the peace officer hiring of Jacob Jones despite Mr. Jones’ obviously Brady background,” Eyster writes. “Having personally reviewed the Brady materials provided to you by the Eureka Police Department, you surprisingly overlooked what was important therein and approved the hiring of this badly tainted former EPD officer as a Willits police officer. First, I would never have thought in a million years that it would be necessary for me to remind you that honesty and credibility have always been essential traits for a police officer.”
Eyster further writes that he is personally reviewing every criminal case in which his office planned to use Jones as a “necessary and material prosecution witness” with plans to dismiss them unless they can be prosecuted without Jones’ involvement.
Warnock responded to a Journal inquiry seeking a response to Eyster’s letter and an update on Jones’ work status and duties but declined to comment, saying it’s a “personnel matter.” Willits Human Resources analyst Karen Stevenson said Jones remains employed by the city, though he is presently “on vacation.”
The allegations Jones faced in Eureka first became public through the Journal’s Aug. 29 story, which detailed disciplinary records the city released under a landmark police transparency bill — Senate Bill 1421 — that went into effect in January. The new law requires departments to release all records related to officer involved shootings and major force incidents, as well as sustained allegations of police officer dishonesty and sexual assault while on duty.
EPD’s release of the internal affairs investigation that sustained allegations against Jones was the first such release locally.
The records indicate Jones was investigated and ultimately disciplined for two separate incidents. The first was a May 25, 2018, call that came into EPD to report a dead dog that had been stabbed or shot. Jones responded to the call and, after spending just six and a half minutes at the scene, tried to clear it without generating a case number (and the subsequent paperwork and follow up investigation that would require). When asked about the call by a superior, Jones allegedly told his sergeant that he’d taken photographs of the scene and the deceased dog, which would have allowed him to follow up. EPD’s investigation found that Jones subsequently tried to explain away the lack of photos by saying his camera wasn’t working and he couldn’t find them but had confided in a fellow officer that he’d, in fact, never attempted to take any photos.
Allegations surrounding the other incident were redacted in the records turned over to the Journal, as EPD said they fell outside the scope of what S.B. 1421 mandates be released. But Eyster’s letter indicates Jones was also found to have failed to accurately document a use of force.
EPD Chief Steve Watson suspended Jones without pay — revoking his police powers — March 22 through April 21. The officer indicated he was going to appeal the suspension with the hopes of getting it retroactively overturned or reduced but resigned his position May 5, 11 days before the case was to go before a personnel board.
“We thoroughly investigated it and determined we were comfortable hiring him … He’s a great officer.”
Warnock told the Journal on Aug. 26 that he was well aware of the allegations against Jones and the officer’s suspension prior to hiring him to join the Willits department, saying, “We thoroughly investigated it and determined we were comfortable hiring him … He’s a great officer.”
The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, meanwhile, was still working to clean up from Jones’ tenure locally. District Attorney Maggie Fleming told the Journal her office was in the midst of a months-long review of cases involving the discredited officer. At least three of those reviews resulted in dismissals or pleas to lesser charges, Fleming said, adding that she still had 19 additional cases she was in the process of reviewing. She said the findings of EPD’s internal affairs investigation “rendered (Jones) unable to serve as a witness in criminal prosecutions.”
In his letter to Warnock, Eyster indicates he’s come to the same conclusion.
“Based on my own personal review of all the EPD materials, I strongly agree with District Attorney Fleming’s conclusions,” Eyster writes. “I further find that it is literally impossible for any informed law enforcement manager to read the EPD materials and not conclude that Mr. Jones is a Brady cop. Yet that is precisely what you did, which in turn calls your legal judgment into question. … As the district attorney concluded in her Humboldt County jurisdiction, I also conclude Mr. Jones’ Brady employment background has rendered him unable to serve as a witness in any criminal prosecution in Mendocino County.”
And that conclusion has some grave consequences, according to Eyster:
“I intend to move to dismiss every pending criminal case in which I determine that Mr. Jones is a necessary and material prosecution witness.”
“I intend to move to dismiss every pending criminal case in which I determine that Mr. Jones is a necessary and material prosecution witness. I will do this to protect the integrity of our local criminal justice system and to follow the mandates of the U.S. Supreme Court. In short, it’s called being fair and following the law.”
Mendocino District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Mike Geniella told the Journal that Eyster’s review has so far impacted six cases but remains ongoing. Eyster makes clear he places the blame for the situation squarely at Warnock’s feet.
“If there are victims, family members or others who have been harmed through criminal misconduct and subsequently become upset that a case must be dismissed due to the Brady implications that you ignored, my office will refer them back to the Willits government entities, including by not limited to the WPD, for you or someone else to explain to them what went wrong and why the dismissal became necessary as soon as the information you withheld came to light,” Eyster writes.
In both tone and content, Eyster’s letter indicates the situation has fractured the ongoing working relationship between his office and Warnock’s department.
“While I accept as obvious your Thursday [Sept. 5] telephone admission that you ‘screwed up,’ that admission seems to me to be too little, too late,” the prosecutor writes. “You have placed local law enforcement in a compromised position, your actions have diminished the reputation of the WPD, you created potential liability for Willits and its citizens, you have squandered WPD and DA resources, and you have placed the (California State Bar) cards of my deputy prosecutors and I at risk. Recognizing multiple errors in judgment is only the beginning of changes that must be undertaken within the Willits Police Department if it is to remain viable and law-abiding. I cannot help but note that such a failure to follow the law never once occurred while Chief (Gerry) Gonzalez was at the helm of WPD.”
“While I accept as obvious your Thursday [Sept. 5] telephone admission that you ‘screwed up,’ that admission seems to me to be too little, too late.”
Warnock took over the department in December of 2016 as interim chief after Gonzalez retired the post he’d held for 13 years to take a seat on the Willits City Council and later saw the interim label removed in April of 2017. In an interview with the Willits News at the time, Warnock said staffing shortages was a major issue facing the department, which was having trouble recruiting and retaining officers, which he attributed to a lower pay scale than other departments in the state. But Warnock insisted the staffing shortage would not change his department’s hiring criteria, saying “we don’t lower our standards just to get warm bodies.”
But Eyster is clearly concerned that there may be other things he does not know about Willits’ police officers.
“I now must wonder what other Brady information you may be aware of and have in your records that you have failed to share with my deputy prosecutors, investigators and with me,” he writes in the Sept. 6 letter. “So there remains no residual doubt please update Chief DA Investigator (Kevin) Bailey in writing of any previously undisclosed … Brady information known to you or anybody in your police agency regarding police officers still working for the WPD with criminal cases pending in local courts. … If there is nothing further to be disclosed, please say so in writing and confirm … under penalty of perjury that you have made a diligent search of records available to you and your department.”
Eyster gave Warnock until Sept. 25 to complete the task, asking that any subsequent discoveries of “actual or even possible Brady information” be immediately disclosed and warning, “It will not be well received if there is a repeat of my having to learn about problems within your shop through newspaper articles or internet posts.”
The letter concludes with a quote from EPD’s Watson that was printed in the Aug. 29 Journal story: “These types of investigations are necessary because we recognize how absolutely vital the public trust is and how easy it can be broken.”
Geniella told the Journal that Warnock had not yet turned over any additional information concerning additional Brady material related to his officers. The Journal will check back after the Sept. 25 deadline.
Read Eyster’s full letter here and our prior reporting here.
This article appears in Coming Full Circle.
Sounds like a big mess but I gather he wasn’t prosecuted for any of this so you have to say you’re innocent until proven guilty sounds like you did some things that were inappropriate at least
You seem to have not read the article, Claudia Johnson. Officer Jones was investigated by EPD, the investigation was sustained and he was suspended for 30 days. It seems to me he was proven “guilty” in an investigation by EPD, he was given a chance at the investigation to defend himself and appeal the decision. Instead, Officer Jones resigned and was hired by Willits PD. Both DAs (Humboldt and Mendocino) determined after reviewing the investigation, that Officer Jones was going to be perceived by jurors and judges reviewing his testimony as a liar and therefore, not a useful witness in any criminal case he was involved in.
Like any profession, group or organization, law enforcement agencies have members who make mistakes (were human and imperfect too) and a few who do worse and dishonor the badge. You can choose to look at this story one of two ways: this is just another example of how most cops are bad OR that we take misconduct very very seriously and we hold ourselves accountable and to the high standards our communities rightfully expect of us.
Ive been a law enforcement officer for over 22 years serving two different agencies and I can tell you that as a whole, the second viewpoint is the truth. (Yes, there may be a few agencies across this country where this has not yet been fully realized but they are the exception not the rule).
This investigation was internally generated within the department by our own supervisors and not from a citizen complaint. Think about that. We discovered misconduct and decisively dealt with it rather than hide or ignore it…just like we do every time.
To become a sworn peace officer in the state of California, you have to successfully pass a rigorous and extremely thorough background investigation that meets POST standards, a polygraph or voice stress analysis, along with a psychological examination aimed at assessing your suitability to be a police officer.
Many applicants fail this process. Sometimes over 50%.
Some reading this will never change their minds about the police but I dont write this for them. Im at home with my family tonight writing it for the rest of you, including some who might be undecided about how they feel.
The publics trust is our lifeblood and we fully recognize this. Many officers have sacrificed their lives or their health for others while honoring the badge in service to their community. There are hundreds of thousands of officers across this country who protect and serve every single day with honor, integrity, courage and commitment. They dont just talk about these things or sit behind an anonymous keyboard criticizing others, they live it and prove it daily.
Enough said. Enjoy your weekend everyone. And rest easy tonight knowing your officers, deputies and dispatchers will be out there keeping you and your loved ones safe while their own families sleep without them. We choose to do this and are grateful our community has entrusted us to protect and serve.
Chief Watson,
Congratulations to you and your agency on a very thorough internal affairs investigation. I agree that maintaining the public’s trust is paramount for law enforcement. If nothing else, you and your staff have certainly ensured that Officer Jones will likely never be employed as a police officer again.
Two questions: First, if Officer Jones lied to you and other members of your staff, what possible reason would you have had to reinstate him after a brief suspension rather than fire him; wouldn’t the appropriate remedy for someone who would clearly need to be on a Brady list be termination instead?
Second, can we trust that EPD will be as forthcoming with materials related to misconduct by officers still employed by EPD?
TD
Tom, I dont want to get into detail or a deep discussion about this on a public media forum like thisits not the most appropriate venue and there are some elements Im not at liberty to share.
With that being said, it wasnt a brief suspension but rather a full months worth of payabout the steepest practical discipline short of termination and the longest Ive personally seen imposed here.
Secondly, your question about retention of a Brady officer is logical and one we also considered (and about which I will be conducting further research). To keep this short, during this disciplinary process I consulted with an outside legal expert to conduct a thorough review of our entire investigation. I did this not only to seek an objective, impartial analysis and opinion of the investigation itself and its integrity (were we thorough, complete and fair; did we get it right or miss anything; did we follow the law and due process while ensuring the rights of the employee and the integrity of the investigation?), but also for the officers sake for all the same reasons. (And I felt we most definitely did, but given the high stakes involved wanted another layer of review.) Part of this consultation was to obtain an opinion concerning the appropriate, sustainable level of discipline likely to stand given the unique totality of the circumstances of this case. Termination was considered. Among other things, I learned degree of misconduct (including in dishonesty cases) is one factor that will be considered during any post-appeals process.
Regarding transparency with other misconduct cases involving current (or former) members of EPD, all cases of serious sustained misconduct that we are legally authorized and mandated to release pursuant to SB 1421 will be. This includes significant uses of force like all officer involved shootings, dishonesty, and on-duty sexual assaults. The Peace Officers Procedural Bill of Rights and California law limits and prescribes what we are allowed to disclose. We will follow the law. The vast majority of law enforcement officers serve with honor and integrity. We dont want the other few anymore than you do.
It would be worth investigating whether Jones has connections with USDA-Wildlife Services trapper Chris Brennan of Laytonville, who in deposition admitted having shot and killed at least 400 dogs under color of authority.
And congrats to David Eyster for having taken such a strong and admirable stance against this rogue cop.
Don Lipmanson
Sebastopol, CA