Kitsap judge to oversee case against Pierce County Sheriff

Associated Press

TACOMA – Kitsap County District Court Judge Jeffrey Jahns will oversee the criminal case against Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer, who is charged with two misdemeanors over his confrontation with a Black newspaper carrier.

Earlier this month, the Kitsap County Commissioners approved the request from Presiding Pierce County District Court Judge Jeanette Lineberry for Jahns to handle the case, the Kitsap Sun reported.

Jahns was previously a criminal defense attorney and a prosecutor and has been a judge for the past 12 years.

“I think it is a big deal that he’s been selected because he’s one of the most talented individuals I know in his field,” Kitsap County Commissioner and lawyer Ed Wolfe said.

Troyer faces one count of false reporting and one count of making a false statement to a civil servant for claiming to an emergency dispatcher that the carrier, Sedrick Altheimer, had threatened to kill him. The charges were filed in Pierce County District Court by Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

Troyer has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Troyer is a 35-year veteran of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, and served for years as the agency’s public face and media spokesperson before being elected sheriff in November 2020.

If convicted, the standard sentencing range for the misdemeanor sentences is up to 364 days in jail and up to a $5,000 fine.