PORT TOWNSEND — Richard Brees, a Port Ludlow Republican running for Jefferson County sheriff in the November election, faces charges in District Court amounting to fourth-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief.
Brees said Tuesday in an interview that he is not guilty of the charges, which stem from an alleged physical confrontation between Brees and his Port Ludlow neighbor, William Thayer, on March 16.
Each misdemeanor charge carries a maximum of one year in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Brees, a developer and broker who filed his candidacy last week — more than four months after the charges — said he is still running for sheriff against Democratic incumbent Mike Brasfield. He has no law enforcement experience.
The election is Nov. 7, and Brees is scheduled to appear before a jury in court three months earlier.
“The sheriff’s department has chosen to twist the facts in this case in order to harm my reputation and candidacy,” Brees, 56, said.
“All of the allegations are false.”
Sheriff’s deputies responded to an altercation between Brees and Thayer, who both live on Embody Road in Port Ludlow, at 5:42 p.m. March 16 and first interviewed Thayer to ascertain what had happened, according to a report filed by Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Anderson.
Pipe reportedly involved
In the report, Anderson indicated that he was familiar with Thayer, who said Brees had assaulted him and threatened him with a 4½-foot galvanized pipe he had ripped from cement in the ground.
Prior to the alleged assault, the two men were arguing about Brees speeding on Embody Road, according to the deputy’s report.
“Thayer said during the argument, Brees kicked him in the stomach and punched him in the chin,” Anderson’s report states.
“Thayer said he threw a punch in self-defense, but couldn’t remember if he connected or not. As I was talking with Thayer, I noticed a visible footprint in the stomach area of his shirt.”
Thayer said that as he was returning to his residence, he looked back and saw Brees waving a galvanized pipe in his hands that was previously cemented in the ground, according to the report.
Brees then struck the gold-painted metal entrance gate to Thayer’s residence, inflicting about $200 in damages, the report states.
Brees calls 9-1-1
While deputies were talking with Thayer, Brees was at his residence, calling JeffCom emergency 9-1-1, wanting to report that he was assaulted by his neighbor.
When deputies began to question Brees to get his side of the story, he said he wanted to press charges against Thayer, who he said started the fight, the report states.
Brees said when he was getting back into his car after arguing with Thayer, he was struck in the back of the head, Anderson wrote.
“On March 16, while driving on Embody Road in Port Ludlow, Wash., I was assaulted and forced to respond in self-defense,” Brees said in an interview Tuesday.
Brees was taken into custody after speaking with the deputies and was booked into Jefferson County jail in Port Hadlock.
Visiting judge
Brees’ jury trial is scheduled for Aug. 15 in Jefferson County District Court in Port Townsend before visiting Kitsap County Judge Matthew Clucas.
Brees’ lawyer, public defender Richard Davies of Port Townsend, requested Jefferson County District Court Judge Mark Huth not preside over the trial, saying he believed Huth would be prejudiced in the matter.
His request was granted, and Davies said he is confident of Brees’ innocence.
“I fully expect him to be acquitted and the county to pay his legal fees,” Davies said Tuesday.
Brees said the charges against him and his decision to run for sheriff are closely connected to past lawsuits Brees has filed against the Sheriff’s Office for allegedly violating his civil liberties.
One filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma in 2000 eventually led to the county striking a $30,000 settlement with Brees over alleged improper conduct by deputies during a car repossession.
In 2004, Brees lost a civil liberties lawsuit in U.S. District Court, and another suit related to the 2004 suit was dismissed last Friday in Jefferson County Superior Court.
“The so-called investigation and the trumped-up charges, I believe, are a direct result of me announcing my candidacy and having filed litigation against the sheriff’s department in the past,” Brees said Tuesday.
“I look forward to the trial and will be vindicated in court.
“I want to get this over with and get on with my campaign and show this for what it is.”
Sheriff’s response
Brasfield in a phone interview Tuesday night said that his opponent’s arrest “was based on a call from a neighbor alleging assault.”
“It was several weeks after that arrest that he announced his candidacy for sheriff,” Brasfield said.
“I honestly was not aware Mr. Brees had any litigation or action against the Sheriff’s Office. If he had filed action against the Sheriff’s Office, it’s news to me.”
“He certainly has not been the subject of any discussion or gossip [in the Sheriff’s Office] in my presence.”