A legal case against a man who was pursued by the Dads Against Predators vigilante group has been dropped.
Citing significant public frustration and a lack of “consistent prosecutorial follow-through,” the Fremont safety service director claimed a lack of communication from the prosecutor’s office.
But the Fremont prosecutor claimed the dismissal was due to tainted evidence.
Ronald Callahan, 69, of Tiffin, was charged in Fremont Municipal Court March 13 with a first-degree misdemeanor for importuning, with the case dismissed July 30 after a mandatory hearing July 28.
City Law Director and Prosecutor Jim Melle and Safety Service Director Kenneth Frost were very supportive of the efforts made by the Fremont Police Department.
DAP was involved in a sting-like confrontation with Callahan around the Fremont Denny’s at 1750 Cedar St. on March 11 that led to a mob forming and a police response. about 150 people showed up and Callahan was ultimately charged with importuning.
Melle issued a follow-up press release in response to Frost’s critical press release about the dismissal, both of which were shared Aug. 4.
“This whole thing is a matter of communication,” Frost said in an interview. “There needs to be better communication between the police department, the investigating officers (i.e. the chief) and the prosecutor’s office, and, in this case, it demonstrated a huge, huge lack of communication.”
Melle noted that the defense had filed a motion “seeking production of evidence from Dads Against Predators. Despite multiple requests by both my office and the Fremont Police Department, DAP did not provide the requested evidence that was necessary to sustain a conviction.”
Court records show that Callahan claimed the DAP had “destroyed evidence for use by the prosecuting attorney and material to preparation of defense.”
Melle followed with a more detailed list of problems with the case.
“Because the investigation and evidence collection were conducted by a private organization rather than law enforcement, significant evidentiary concerns arose, including issues related to chain of custody, the admissibility and reliability of evidence and the inability to ensure witness cooperation,” Melle wrote. “Collectively, these issues substantially undermined the likelihood of obtaining a conviction.”
Mayor Danny Sanchez, who has a law enforcement background, commented on the case and maintained his position that he is against vigilante justice.
“This case, specifically, was a very egregious case inside the city of Fremont. It’s not my job as the mayor to tell the prosecutor how to do their job and what they should or shouldn’t prosecute, but, from my office and from my administration, it is important to be transparent with the public on why the case was ultimately dismissed, which resulted in [Frost] writing the press release,” Sanchez said.
While Melle’s office gave an explanation to the administration, Sanchez said that “the case needed to be explained in a more detailed manner, so the public can understand why the case was being dismissed.”
Sanchez and Frost said in follow-up interviews that the city received many complaints about the case on social media, through phone calls and in-person. Frost’s press release on Facebook had almost 1,000 public reactions.
“This is not a normal, ordinary crime in our community,” Sanchez said. “We were hopeful that the case could be prosecuted to hold the person accountable. Making sure the crime can be prosecuted, apparently, was not easy to do based on evidentiary issues, according to the prosecutor, and I think that’s the explanation that the public would be looking for.
“If the prosecutor would explain, right from the beginning, that he can’t prosecute these cases because of vigilante justice and that there are evidentiary issues, and explain that, I think this thing would go away right from the beginning.”
Contact Roger LaPointe at 419-332-2674.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Importuning case dropped due to evidence corruption by vigilante group
Reporting by Roger LaPointe, Fremont News-Messenger / Fremont News-Messenger
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By Roger LaPointe, Fremont News-Messenger | USA TODAY Network
