John Ferak

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Last in a five-part video series examining Steven Avery's $36 million lawsuit against Manitowoc County

Andrew Colborn: Manitowoc County sheriff's deputy since 1992.

Biography: Born in March 1959; active duty U.S. Air Force, 1976-1988; auto transmission mechanic in Las Vegas, 1988-1990; diesel mechanic in Wisconsin at Waupaca Foundry Inc., 1990-1992; joined Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office as jailer, 1992; currently lieutenant of the detective bureau.

Read Colborn's full Sept. 12,2003 report

Role in Avery wrongful conviction: When Colborn worked in the county jail in 1995, he received a call from a detective who worked in Brown County who believed he had an inmate in the Green Bay jail, now known to be Gregory Allen, who committed a rape in Manitowoc County that someone else was in prison for. Colborn and his supervisors decided not to vigorously pursue the matter at the time.

Key moments from sworn testimony of Oct. 13, 2005: Colborn said he could not remember details of the phone call that could have spurred Avery's exoneration in 1995, rather than in September 2003. Other county employees suspected Colborn of conferring with then-Sheriff Tom Kocourek about the matter, which was never followed up by anyone at the sheriff's office.

"I'm not ruling out the possibility that I may have discussed it with someone else, but I can't specifically tell you names of people I may have mentioned this to."

Colborn testified his boss Lt. James Lenk was not present when Colborn met with Sheriff Ken Petersen the day after Avery's 2003 exoneration to discuss the phone call from eight years earlier that fell through the cracks.

"Sheriff Petersen was downstairs where our patrol division is, and I got the impression he was waiting for me to come into work. There were other people coming in and out of the room, but I don't recall who."

Colborn was asked if he opened the conversation with Petersen surrounding the Avery matter.

"No, he initiated the conversation by saying he had spoken with Lieutenant Lenk and he felt that it would be in the best interests of Lieutenant Lenk and myself and the sheriff's department, I would suppose, that if I was to give him a statement on the gist of our conversation or what we had discussed. And I asked for clarification on that, you know. And he goes, 'Well, what you discussed about a telephone call that you received while you were working in the jail. And I said 'OK.' And before I went out on patrol, I provided this statement."

RELATED: Avery lawsuit video: Ex-sheriff Ken Petersen

RELATED: Avery lawsuit video: Sketch artist Gene Kusche

RELATED:Avery lawsuit video: Lt. James Lenk

RELATED: Avery lawsuit video: Sgt. Andrew Colborn

Source sworn testimony: Magne-Script Video Court Reporting

John Ferak: 920-993-7115 or jferak@gannett.com; on Twitter@johnferak