Attorney Brock defends plea agreement with Keokuk County Sheriff

Washington County Attorney Larry Brock?s decision to enter into a plea agreement with Keokuk County Sheriff Jeffrey Earl Shipley on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated-first offense in order to have the charge dismissed has received response in the media.

The plea agreement was given an opinion-page ?thistle? from the Des Moines Register Feb. 12. In addition, Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu wrote a column titled ?Decision on sheriff mocks justice,? the same Sunday.

?I knew going into this that regardless of whatever decision is made, the public is going to react to it, which is fine,? Brock said. ?The public has a right to their opinion. My concern is the public is basing their opinion not based on facts - based on what they want to believe happened.?

Shipley pleaded guilty to drunken boating in 2008. Brock said drunken boating is in a different part of Iowa code.

?Boating intoxications have no impact on motor vehicle intoxications,? Brock said. ?So what I was left with was OWI-first offense, a serious misdemeanor. The possible penalties I could get, if I convicted him, if I was able to convince a jury of his guilt, was a fine, minimum in-jail time and substance abuse evaluation. If I took him to trial and didn?t convict him, I get nothing.?

Rather than risk ?getting nothing,? Brock decided to make a plea deal.

Part of the deferred judgment included a complete report Brock released Feb. 10.

?That?s why we even first started talking about the deferred prosecution agreement with Mr. Shipley?s attorney,? Brock said. ?I told him right from the start, if we enter into this agreement, if it gets fulfilled, if the case gets dismissed, there will be full disclosure. I?m not going to accept anything else. I don?t want the public to get the wrong idea that this case simply went away for no reason. I wanted to explain to them why we did this, the reasons behind it, the evidence I had and didn?t have.?

When asked about Basu?s column and the Register?s ?thistle,? Brock said, ?I talked to a Des Moines Register reporter today [Feb. 16]. They want to do a follow-up on it. When I said, ?Have you called sheriff Shipley,? [the reporter said], ?Well, we?ve talked to his attorney.??

Brock asked the reporter why he called Shipley?s attorney.

?The case is over,? Brock said. ?He?s not in danger of any further prosecution.?

A few moments later, Brock said he wanted the reporter to go to Shipley himself.

?You need to not go to his attorney,? Brock said. ?You need to go to him directly and say, ?What do you mean when you said to the other trooper,? ?you know I can?t take that test.? What does that mean? What were you saying there? Why won?t you take the test? If you really had only one beer at supper that night, you know you?re not intoxicated. You know there?s no reason not to take the test. So you?re hiding something. What are you hiding??

When asked what other drivers should do if they should submit to sobriety tests, Brock said he recommended cooperating with the officer.

?That?s what I expect of someone who gets stopped by the officers,? he said. ?If they want you to do a test, you do a test. If you?re drunk, you?re drunk. If you?re not, you?re not. That?s what I expected sheriff Shipley to do. He?s the one who created the situation by his refusal.?

Shipley?s compliance with the plea agreement stipulated he had to get a substance abuse evaluation from an out-of-county facility. He had to follow all treatment recommendations in the evaluation. He did not have any further incidents involving alcohol during his six-month deferred sentence. He has to pay for all prosecution costs.

Brock also said he talked with trooper Diephuis several times about the case.

?I know he?s not happy with the decision,? Brock said. ?Frankly, I?m not happy with the decision.?

Brock also said Shipley?s ?gotten off scot-free.?

Brock held a press conference Feb. 10 about the investigation and prosecution of Shipley?s crime of operating while intoxicated. He also issued a seven-page report that day. In the report, Brock stated he would ?also discuss and explain the reasons underlying the ultimate resolution of this matter.?

Shipley was pulled over by Iowa State Patrol Trooper Richard Diephius on Highway 92 in Keokuk County on July 27 after Diephius noted Shipley?s pickup truck?s license plate had an expired registration sticker. When Shipley got out of his truck, Diephius ?smelled a very strong odor of alcohol coming from Shipley and saw that his eyes were watery and bloodshot.?

Brock said Shipley refused to take any field sobriety tests and a Breathalyzer test. Brock?s report also stated Shipley ?asked why he was not being given any professional courtesy.?

Other persons present at the Keokuk County law enforcement center were Keokuk County deputies Casey Hinah and Terry Hollingsworth. The report states Keokuk County Attorney Jon Schroeder also was involved in some of the events, plus he had a working relationship with Shipley. Because Schroeder ?had an actual and real conflict of interest,? the Washington County attorney prosecuted the case for the state of Iowa.

Brock wrote there was sufficient evidence to prove Shipley was guilty of OWI beyond a reasonable doubt. However, other factors played into the case. One of the factors was the audio quality of the videotape of the incident taken by trooper Diephuis? patrol car was poor, and it was difficult to hear most of what was said during the trooper?s investigation.

In addition, Brock thought the Keokuk County deputies and attorney would have been called to ?rebut? Diephuis? testimony. He said Shipley was elected to office in 2008 with 49 percent of the vote. Therefore, ?Shipley received strong and widespread support throughout Keokuk County.?

Brock said another reason for the outcome of the case was that Shipley was still coping with the killing of Keokuk County Deputy Sheriff Eric Stein in the line of duty April 4.