Judge upholds police trickery

Seattle police detectives' tricks to get a slaying suspect to send his DNA right to them -- leading to a first-degree murder charge in a two-decade-old case -- were upheld yesterday in King County Superior Court.

Judge Sharon Armstrong ruled that police did not violate John Athan's privacy or other rights by sending the New Jersey man a phony letter saying he was eligible for money in a class-action lawsuit over parking tickets.

Athan found himself charged with the 1982 killing of 13-year-old Kristen Sumstad soon after he replied to the detectives' fictitious law firm, unwittingly mailing his DNA to Seattle by sealing the envelope with saliva.

Athan's attorney asked the judge to either throw out the DNA evidence or dismiss the case. Armstrong ruled yesterday that there was no reason to do so.

Although she agreed with Athan's lawyer, John Muenster, that the police broke the law by pretending to be lawyers, she noted that police are allowed to do that to catch criminals.

Officers can pay for sex with prostitutes, buy drugs or even set up a phony business to fence stolen property, so "the mere fact that the police violated the law in posing as lawyers does not require dismissal," she wrote.

She found that while people may expect their letters to be private, that expectation doesn't apply to the envelope they use. She also noted that Athan's response to the letter was voluntary, regardless of the fact that he was tricked.

"Had the defendant not returned the letter, nothing more would be known about him," the judge wrote.

King County prosecutors were pleased with the ruling, noting that the higher courts have found police trickery an acceptable and sometimes necessary part of police work.

"I think we see it as a victory for the truth, because that's really what the police were trying to discover," Deputy Prosecutor Steve Fogg said. "Just because you're outsmarted by the police doesn't make the police conduct unconstitutional."

Muenster said he will appeal the matter to the Washington State Supreme Court.

The trial, set to begin this week, likely will be delayed.

"I put a lot of energy into these motions, and I believe in them," he said.

"I think the issues here are of great importance to the integrity of our legal system."

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and its Washington organization both supported Muenster's argument, contending the justice system could be severely damaged if police officers are allowed to pose as lawyers.

Sumstad's body was found Nov. 12, 1982, in a cardboard television box behind a TV store in Magnolia. She had been beaten and strangled. Athan was a potential suspect back then, but evidence was scant.

Detectives assigned to work Seattle's unsolved homicides opened the case recently and learned that DNA had been found on the victim -- they just needed a way to get a sample from their suspect for comparison.

Police spokeswoman Deanna Nollette said the letter ruse was nothing short of "excellent police work."

"It was an excellent strategy in that it allowed them to get the evidence they needed in a minimally intrusive way," she said.

More headlines and info from Magnolia.