Monument fire trucks.jpeg

Surplus fire equipment remains impounded on Monday, Aug. 29, 2016, in John Day after it was seized from the rural Grant County property of Roy R. Peterson. Peterson was convicted last week of theft relating to the 10 fire trucks and ambulances. He was appointed a special deputy by Sheriff Glenn Palmer while he was awaiting trial on the felony charges. The equipment was intended for a new rural fire district near Monument, Oregon. Les Zaitz/Staff

(Les Zaitz/Staff)

Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer gave an ominous warning to a rural fire chief trying to recover fire trucks stolen from his department.

Chief Jeremy Boyer needed the trucks in early 2013 for the recently formed Monument Rural Fire District, protecting a sparsely populated area in northern Grant County. The trucks were parked on the rural property of a prior fire chief, Roy R. Peterson, who court filings show had ignored demands he give them back.

Palmer told the new fire chief that "if he attempted to retrieve any trucks or other equipment from Peterson's property, he would be charged with trespass or shot by Peterson," according to a search warrant affidavit.

Boyer heeded the warning and didn't try, and Palmer concluded his criminal investigation of Peterson by finding "this is a property dispute and civil matter."

But a Grant County jury last week concluded it was a crime.

The jury convicted Peterson, a special sheriff's deputy, of the theft of 10 fire trucks and other firefighting equipment. He also was convicted of using fraudulent documents to obtain an $8,999 state grant for the new district. Peterson then diverted the money, according to trial evidence.

Peterson had claimed in part that he was entitled to keep the fire equipment until he had been reimbursed for district expenses, according to court filings.

Defense attorneys had listed Palmer as a witness for Peterson, but didn't call him to testify.

Peterson's sentencing for three felonies is scheduled for Oct. 3. He was prosecuted by Dan Wendel and Bumjoon Park, senior assistant attorneys general for the state Department of Justice.

State prosecutors said in court filings they will ask the judge to stiffen Peterson's sentence because he "has shown a lack of remorse" and the crime "created a risk to public safety." He faces up to 10 years in prison on aggravated first-degree theft and up to five years in prison for first-degree theft and possession of a stolen vehicle.

The case reveals more about the unusual approach the Grant County sheriff has taken to policing in his rural county.

Palmer named Peterson, 64, a volunteer sheriff's deputy last March, the latest in a string of 65 such appointments since 2010. Peterson's appointment stirred concern among some people in the county because at the time he was awaiting trial on state theft charges.

The sheriff himself twice had investigated Peterson on theft accusations involving fire equipment and both times closed out his cases without charges. A separate Oregon State Police investigation subsequently led to Peterson's indictment in 2015.

Palmer hasn't responded to questions about his relationship with Peterson or whether Peterson would keep his appointment as a deputy. A review of the sheriff's county-issued cellphone records shows Palmer talked to Peterson more than anyone else. Cellphone invoices for January and February show 46 phone calls lasting 355 minutes -- nearly six hours.

In 2011, Palmer opened his first investigation when Monument city officials complained that Peterson had taken equipment from the city. He had served as the city's volunteer fire chief while pushing to create the rural fire district and considered himself its chief.

During the investigation, the suspect stopped by the sheriff's home at 9 p.m. one night, according to the incident report later completed by Palmer.

Peterson "dropped off the cellphone booster that belongs to the city of Monument," the sheriff reported.

Three days later, Palmer closed the investigation after sharing his findings with the local district attorney. Local prosecutors said in a memo that the property dispute seemed to be a civil matter.

Theft claims cropped up two years later after voters created the Monument Rural Fire District. Officials of the new district demanded Peterson return equipment meant for the district. They complained to the sheriff's office when he didn't, according to a search warrant affidavit.

Again, Palmer himself undertook the investigation and that's when, according to the affidavit, he warned the new fire chief, Jeremy Boyer, from trying to recover the equipment.

In his report, Palmer said that four days into his investigation he told a fire district official that Peterson thought he had a right to the fire equipment and "I do not have the authority to go to Peterson's to take anything."

In an echo of the earlier case, Palmer ended his two-week investigation by deciding it was a civil matter. He made no mention of consulting prosecutors first, and he made clear he was done with the matter.

"This agency will conduct no more investigation into this case," the sheriff wrote.

Ryan Joslin, then the Grant County district attorney, told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday that he had told Palmer that there appeared to be criminal conduct and that he was referring the matter to state authorities.

The next month, state police opened their own investigation and state officials subsequently seized 10 trucks, including fire pumpers, wild land fire trucks and one ambulance from Peterson's property. The equipment remains in state police custody, parked in John Day.

When word got out about Peterson's appointment this year as a volunteer sheriff's deputy, Palmer took to Facebook to explain. He said he deputized Peterson to help with a rescue of three men trapped by snow in a cabin, although the appointment occurred a week after the rescue. He said the appointment ensured Peterson was covered by county insurance, though county volunteers are automatically protected.

He acknowledged the pending criminal case against his deputy.

"Is the man convicted of some big heinous crime where he should be incarcerated or is a danger to the public?" Palmer wrote.

At the time, Palmer himself was under state criminal investigation in a case still pending. The Oregon Criminal Justice Division is investigating whether Palmer tampered with government records by deleting an electronic police report.

Separately, the sheriff faces an administrative investigation by the state agency that certifies police into 11 complaints about his conduct from local citizens and John Day's police chief and dispatch manager. He has retained the same Enterprise attorneys who represented Peterson.

-- Les Zaitz

@leszaitz