Gary Fletcher

Staff Writer

ENTERPRISE A judge ordered Oregon State Police officers to appear at a hearing today and bring records denied to Rahn Hostetter, defense attorney for Gordon Caudle.

Caudle was the first person cited Nov. 24 for poaching and borrowing an elk tag in a game case that includes Mark Hemstreet and others.

Today’s hearing was scheduled to determine whether to grant Hostetter’s motion to compel OSP to turn over documents to him.

Hostetter said that on Dec. 29 he requested discovery of documents, including the troopers’ "notes, journals, reports, billing records for six telephone numbers, and all the OSP officers’ e-mails from Oct. 1, 2004 to date; copies of any records concerning posting of road closure signs on Powwatka Ridge, and copies of all pictures or documents seized during the searches of the homes of Mark and Brian Hemstreet, David Forni and Gregg Clapper."

Hostetter said he was rebuffed by the district attorney and told that the defendant had everything the DA had. Hostetter also said that he only received OSP troopers Bill Ables’ two-page report and Brad Duncan’s three-page report.

On Jan. 12, Hostetter filed a motion asking the court to compel the above documents to be surrendered.

Then Hostetter had subpoenas served to senior Trooper Darren Chandler, Sgt. Scott Moore, Mark Knapp, Duncan, and Ables (a retired sergeant).

On behalf of the OSP, Oregon Assistant Attorney General Andrew Logerwell filed a motion to quash the subpoenas.

A hearing on that motion was held March 2.

Logerwell testified by telephone that the documents are not relevant and that it is improper to serve subpoenas on the state police who are third parties.

Judge Russ West determined that whatever police have is also considered in the possession or control of the DA.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Hostetter said that the OSP Portland office made a press release to the Oregonian Jan. 12.

Troopers Ables’ and Duncan’s reports are inconsistent with the press release, Hostetter said, and he wants to know what the troopers told the Portland office.

The Portland office asked the reporter not to divulge that there was an informant in the case, but the reporter did so anyway.

"It is probable that (telephone records) will show records of telephone calls made to Shilo Ranch by OSP officers prior to the stop of defendant Caudle on November 14."

"Hemstreet had instructed defendant Caudle that he was not allowed on the ranch. … Defendant had four elk in his pickup truck that he was transporting from the Shilo Ranch … to the Portland area where the defendant lives," Hostetter says in a March 2 memo to the court," Hostetter contends.

The officers "had no probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion, to stop the defendant’s vehicle. … Therefore, the stop was illegal and all evidence gathered thereafter must be suppressed," Hostetter

contends.

Judge West took last Wednesday’s case under advisement and ruled Friday that the subpoenas were overbroad in some areas, and granted parts of the OSP’s motion to quash subpoenas for the notices of road closures and phone records.

West denied the OSP’s motion to quash subpoenas for OSP files, notebooks, emails and items seized in searches.

The officers are required to provide the materials to the judge today. After inspecting them and hearing arguments, he will rule as to what, if anything, will be turned over to the defense.

The attorneys have 30 days to make any more motions.