Former Liberty Lake police officer charged with tampering with witness

A Liberty Lake police officer was charged on suspicion of three counts of felony witness tampering and resigned from the department after an incident the 42-year-old responded to last summer.

The Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office filed the three tampering charges against former officer Michael Marroquin on March 17.

The charges stem from the investigation into an altercation at First Liberty Apartments, 25000 E. Hawkstone Loop, early Aug. 18, according to a police news release and court documents. Officers collected statements from witnesses and victims who reported a felony assault, burglary and other possible crimes, the release from the Liberty Lake Police Department said.

Marroquin and his partner, identified as 42-year-old Kelly Jenson in court documents, then arrived and took over the scene, according to police. Marroquin and Jenson cleared the scene shortly after, but no arrests were made and no written reports were completed.

A Liberty Lake detective assigned to the case later charged numerous suspects in the case with crimes, including residential burglary, assault, theft, reckless endangerment and making false statements to police, according to documents.

When police officials learned no case had initially been completed, the department reviewed officer bodycam footage, the release said. That led to an internal investigation.

Liberty Lake police also asked an outside agency, the Airway Heights Police Department, to conduct an investigation to determine whether any policies or state laws were violated. Marroquin was placed on administrative leave during the investigations and resigned shortly after the start of the investigations on Sept. 22.

Airway Heights police determined Marroquin committed three counts of tampering with a witness and Jenson violated Liberty Lake police policies. The department said it took “appropriate disciplinary action” against Jenson but did not disclose the punishment.

According to documents, Marroquin persuaded three victims in the altercation to testify falsely and withhold information by implying one of the victims would go to jail on a warrant if he testified as a witness. Marroquin stopped one of the victims from speaking when he was ready to provide a statement, the documents allege.

It’s unclear why he allegedly tried to stop the victims from testifying.

Marroquin is set for trial June 26. He was not listed in the Spokane County Jail Tuesday night.