He won’t be prosecuted for trying to stab Pierce County sheriff’s deputy. Here’s why

A Pierce County man who was accused of trying to fatally stab a Sheriff’s Department deputy responding to an assault he was a suspect in last year had several charges dismissed because the court found deputies violated his constitutional rights.

According to court records, sheriff’s deputies Ernest Cedillo and Brent Tulloch went to the trailer Jeremiah Lee Connors was living in southeast of Puyallup in August last year while investigating a felony assault. The deputies reportedly had probable cause to arrest the man for beating someone with a piece of rebar at a business on the same property.

The deputies didn’t have a warrant for his arrest, according to court filings from both the prosecution and defense. Unless it’s an emergency, state law makes it illegal for law enforcement to enter and search a private residence without a warrant. Body camera footage obtained by The News Tribune through a public records request shows Connors was inside and told deputies to return with a warrant at least three times.

Outside the trailer, Cedillo cut a piece of cord holding the door shut. When Connors opened it to again tell the deputies to come back with a warrant, records state Cedillo grabbed the man by his shirt. A scuffle ensued inside. Connors allegedly tried to stab Cedillo in the neck with a knife, and the deputy punched him in the face to get him to drop it. Both deputies drew their firearms, and Connors was shocked with a Taser several times before he was handcuffed.

Two days after the arrest, Aug. 15, Connors was charged in Pierce County Court with second-degree attempted murder for trying to stab Cedillo and first- and third-degree assault for the attack. Another first-degree assault charge was filed for the rebar incident.

The next day, prosecutors submitted a memorandum admitting that the legality of Connors’ “warrantless arrest” was questionable. The memo went on to state that despite that, Connors was not within his rights to use force against deputies because he faced only loss of freedom and not risk of injury.

Charges related to Connors’ scuffle with deputies were dismissed last month after his attorney from the Department of Assigned Counsel submitted a motion arguing that deputies’ actions were illegal, and that it was law enforcement’s violent actions that caused Connors to react the way he did.

“Any resistance by Mr. Connors was not out of fear of loss of liberty,” defense attorney Eric Trujillo wrote. “Law enforcement had just spent several minutes lying to him telling him that he is not in trouble and that they just want to talk to him. He is secure in his home, yet they cut the mechanism that locks the door and charge at him when he opens it.”

In the state’s motion to dismiss the charges, prosecutors wrote that it was law enforcement’s actions that gave rise to the crimes Connors was eventually charged with, not including the first-degree assault charge his trial will focus on.

“While this does not justify the Defendant’s violent actions against Deputy Cedillo, the State believes in the interest of justice, dismissal of Counts 1, 2 and 4 is warranted,” prosecutors wrote.

Deputies respond to assault with weapon

The call that brought deputies to Connors’ trailer was for an assault on a 49-year-old man working at RC Custom Concrete. According to a deputy’s report, the worker told law enforcement there had been ongoing issues with Connors at the shop. Recently, Connors had accused the worker of stealing his food from the refrigerator.

Connors, 41, is the nephew of the business owner, who was reportedly letting him stay in a travel trailer on the property to help him get back on his feet. He was also allowed to use the shop’s bathroom and fridge. The older worker told deputies that Connors hadn’t accepted opportunities to work and instead spent his days smoking and prowling vehicles for cigarette butts.

After being accused of stealing, the worker removed Connors’ food from the refrigerator, put it outside the travel trailer and told the man he wasn’t welcome in the shop area anymore, deputies reported. Some time later, the worker told deputies, Connors bumped him with his chest and started swinging at him when he told Connors he didn’t need to be in the shop and that they could get him a Honey Bucket portable toilet if he needed.

Connors allegedly put the other man in a headlock while the man told him to stop. The worker told deputies he swept Connors’ leg to bring him to the ground, where he allegedly continued to punch the worker. According to deputies’ reports, Connors then grabbed a piece of rebar about four feet long and started swinging it.

The worker was struck in the head, shoulders and face multiple times with the rebar. Body camera footage later recorded by deputies showed he had a bloody scrape on the top of his head, and deputies reported finding a “substantial amount of blood” on a concrete pad outside the shop. The man declined medical attention and told deputies he’d had worse wounds before.

Assault trial underway

Connors now faces an assault trial before Judge Thomas Quinlan. It got underway Tuesday with opening statements. According to a trial brief from the defense, Connors’ attorney is expected to deny the allegations and argue his client acted in self defense. In a motion to dismiss charges related to Connors’ warrantless arrest, the attorney described the assault the defendant is accused of as “mutual combat.”

Both the prosecution and defense filed motions to exclude information related to Connors’ arrest at trial. The motions were made on different grounds, and according to the court filings, the defense argued that references to Connors’ alleged attempted murder and assault of a deputy during the arrest would only be used to prove Connors’ character, rather than the crime for which he is charged.

Prosecutors’ motion, on the other hand, related to the credibility of deputy Cedillo. The state argued that Cedillo did not make any false statements in his report, so any mention of “unconstitutional entry” into Connors’ trailer must be excluded. Prosecutors also wrote that the unlawful entry occurred after the assault at issue, and it doesn’t reflect the deputy’s truthfulness.

It’s unclear whether deputies Cedillo or Tulloch have faced any internal investigation regarding their warrantless arrest of Connors and their entry of his residence. A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department did not respond to an emailed request for information. The News Tribune has filed public records requests for the deputies’ personnel files and internal affairs files related to the arrest. .

According to the section of the Sheriff’s Department’s 2020 policy manual pertaining to searches, deputies arriving at crime scenes often need to search for victims and determine if suspects are present and continuing to pose a threat.

The policy goes on to say those exigent circumstances likely no longer exist once suspects aren’t present and/or there’s no one to be treated for injuries. It states: “Deputies should thereafter secure the scene and conduct no further search until additional or alternate authority for the search is obtained, such as consent or a search warrant.”

Former staff writer Jared Brown contributed reporting to this story.