Attorney-client breach jeopardizes Iron Range Hells Angels case
A judge has called a hearing to gather additional information after it was discovered that law enforcement gained access to confidential jail communications.
https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/attorney-client-breach-jeopardizes-iron-range-hells-angels-case
By Tom Olsen .Duluth News Tribune October 12, 2024
VIRGINIA — Defense attorneys are asking a judge to toss kidnapping, rape and assault charges against four men connected to the Hells Angels motorcycle club after investigators allegedly eavesdropped on privileged communications.
Court filings accuse the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension of illegally monitoring phone calls and/or text messages from at least two jailed defendants to their attorneys.
The documents allege that agents were able to intercept key discussions about defense strategy, in turn passing along information to the prosecutor and seeking to prevent witnesses from cooperating with the defense.
Gilbert Police Chief Ty Techar, whose agency was asked by the BCA to assist in reviewing jail communications, indicated to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office that he believed the review may have been “more widespread” than the one instance that was initially brought to the attention of a prosecutor.
Techar, according to a report, also expressed concern that a BCA agent was “going off the deep end” and said he heard the case was “falling apart.”
“Law enforcement alerted the state to not just illegally eavesdropping, but illegally eavesdropping attorney-client privileged communications for the purpose of gaining an advantage in litigation,” defense attorneys wrote. “This is a more egregious violation than generalized eavesdropping, and treating it as anything less opens the floodgates to unchecked government surveillance.”
Prosecutors have not yet filed a detailed response, with a judge setting a hearing for next month to gather additional information. The BCA declined to address specific allegations, citing the active investigation and litigation.
“The BCA reviews jail communications, including jail phone calls and text messages — which are public — as part of active investigations,” spokeswoman Jill Oliveira told the News Tribune.
“Any communication containing attorney/client privileged information is supposed to be removed before we ever have access to it. However, if we receive information that we believe should have been removed, we immediately close the file and contact the county attorney. That is certainly what happened here.”
Agents had been monitoring group
The cases stem from allegations that a woman was sexually assaulted and a man was abducted and beaten at the Hells Angels’ downtown Eveleth clubhouse.
Authorities reported that the man escaped from the group on crutches on Nov. 28 and ran to the safety of police, expressing fear that members could find him.
Investigators said they went on to learn that both victims were visiting an Eveleth residence on Nov. 27 when club members arrived. It was reported that the woman was raped there by Paul Anthony Debelak and Eric Anthony Newman.
The man, meanwhile, was allegedly taken to the clubhouse in a van driven by Jake Douglas Novaczyk. He said he continued to be beaten by the chapter president, Jerand Paul French, as other members recorded video.
Authorities have released few details about the alleged motive or relationships between parties, other than to say that French was allegedly upset about the man’s association with the woman.
Defense attorneys, however, allege in their new filings that investigators were eager to implicate the club in serious crimes, noting BCA agents had been conducting surveillance outside the headquarters since at least June 2023.
The attorneys assert that the alleged victims had been using drugs, a practice that is not tolerated by the Hells Angels, and that they concocted the narrative for the eager investigators. The defense filings indicate that other witnesses in the house said the rape and kidnapping did not occur, and there is no DNA or other forensic evidence to support it.
Debelak’s attorney, Shauna Kieffer, said she suspected their communications were compromised after her client provided the names of some witnesses they should speak to. She said BCA agents “almost immediately” got a hold of those people and ordered them not to have any contact with the defense.
Attorneys expressed further concerns about “chronic and ongoing threats” to witnesses, saying at least one person was “falsely told he could be charged with a crime if he didn’t cooperate with the BCA,” and noting a recording was made of one such call.
Breach was disclosed by prosecutor
The lawyers said their fears were realized when a BCA agent told St. Louis County prosecutor Chris Florey that he learned Novaczyk’s defense planned to surprise the state by filing a speedy trial demand at a July hearing.
Florey immediately alerted defense attorney Robert Christensen, and there is no indication that the prosecutor otherwise benefited from privileged information.
Florey reported to defense attorneys that he directed the agent not to monitor attorney-client communications. The agent, he said, responded with something along the lines of, “Forget what I just told you then.”
“The agent gave no reassurance this wouldn’t happen again or that this was a one-time mistake,” defense attorneys wrote, calling it “egregious conduct” that impacts their clients’ rights and turns the prosecutor into a witness.
Florey subsequently spoke with Techar, whose agency had been asked to assist due to a conflict with the Eveleth Police Department. The Gilbert chief told the prosecutor there “might be an issue with the text system” at the jail, with messages to attorneys and non-attorneys mixed together, rather than being separated.
Techar added in a follow-up email that he may have “misspoke on the issue of (the agent) going off the deep end” but said he was advised the BCA agent was “stressed and overworked from this case.”
The defense motions seek multiple sanctions up to dismissal of charges against all four defendants based on violations of their rights to counsel and due process, witness tampering and “outrageous government conduct.”
In the alternative, attorneys argued Debelak and Novaczyk should be released from custody, agents involved in monitoring calls should be removed from the case and a hearing should be scheduled to address violations in detail.
Judge Robert Friday this week scheduled a Nov. 22 hearing in Debelak’s case, at which time agents are expected to testify about the attorney-client issues and witness tampering allegations.
The judge also granted Debelak’s release at a Tuesday hearing, eliminating a prior requirement to post a $500,000 bond. Debelak will remain under intensive pretrial release.