i don't even know what to say. my dad sent me this letter that he sent to the new DA that will be coming into office in january in san mateo county. all i could say to my dad was. "you're my hero!" finally, someone is standing up for me and protecting me. i don't know what will come of it...but i do know that worse case scenario, i will go home to my parents and take my daughter and all my furry critters. it could be worse. if you're interested, here's the letter...my dad rocks!

Mr. Stephen M. Wagstaffe

Chief Deputy District Attorney

San Mateo County



Dear Mr. Wagstaffe,

Your office is prosecuting a rape case with my daughter as the victim and an illegal immigrant as the accused. The case is being prosecuted by Ms. Jennifer Ow and the defense lawyer is Scott Newbould. Mr. Newbould is using a Private Investigator named Michael Hartman. In the process of his investigation, Hartman has significantly overstepped his authority, probably acting illegally. He also has further victimized my daughter. I am very concerned that the response to Hartmanâs actions by your office has fallen significantly short of the support crime victims should expect to receive and is, at a minimum, an incomplete effort.

At the behest of Mr. Newbould, Hartman is contacting witnesses and other members of the community gathering information for the defense. While doing this, Hartman is approaching some people who have no knowledge nor are they associated with the case. For example:

Recently he contacted my daughterâs employer. This is curious since the employer hired my daughter subsequent to the date of reporting the rape to the police. He told the employer that my daughter was a supposed victim of a crime (he didnât specify what type of crime) and that he was investigating on behalf of the defense. He told the employer that the case will be a high profile case that would bring negative consequences to her business and might be threatening to her clients. He specified to the employer that my daughter might be a threat to clients who are children. He also asked questions about my daughterâs behavior particularly seeking information that might be construed as odd or bad behavior. At that point the employer ended the phone conversation.
Before this incident, Hartman conducted interviews with my daughterâs neighbors, friends and acquaintances and solicited comments intended to demean her character. In June, he ordered one friend to have âno contactâ with my daughter again. At that point, DDA Melissa McKowan (who was then handling my daughterâs case) complained to Mr. Newbould about the inappropriateness and/or illegality of this directive by Hartman. Ms. McKowan advised my daughter that, âthe defense attorney told me he had spoken with his investigator and advised him not to make âno contactâ statements to the witnesses. He of course denied he did, but the warning was the purposeâhe surely wonât do it again now that he knows weâre watching him.â Clearly he did do it again.
I feel that any reasonable person would see that his questions and comments directed to my daughterâs employer are not expressions of concern for her business. They are an exercise of intimidation aimed at damaging the professional relationship my daughter has with her employer. I feel that his real goal is to intimidate my daughter and scare her into urging you to drop the charges. Similarly, directives to my daughterâs friends to stop talking to her are intended to dissuade her from pursuing this prosecution. There is no doubt that his many actions have frightened her badly. These incidents also so upset the Deputy District Attorney that she recommended that my daughter and her family consider moving their residence. They did move and it has cost them thousands of dollars.

Hartman has not only overstepped his authority and shattered any standards that might guide the work of responsible private investigators, I think he has broken the law trying to intimidate my daughter and interfere with her right to work. And I feel that there is a documented pattern with his bad and unlawful behavior. I believe that since this behavior has been brought to the attention of the defense counsel more than once, then Mr. Newbould, as his employer, shares responsibility for Hartmanâs continued actions.

I donât understand why your office is treating this so lightly. I know your office had the police contact my daughterâs employer resulting in a report being taken. According to Ms. Ow, her supervisor contacted the investigatorâs supervisor (whoever that is) and that the investigatorâs supervisor âspoke to the investigator about things he found inappropriateâ. Is this the best you can do? It sounds like Hartman was sent to the principalâs office, was chastised and said he wouldnât do it again.

Where is the integrity in this investigative process? Ms. Ow said specifics about any consequences Hartman suffered couldnât be revealed because, âitâs a personnel matter and handled internallyâ. Has your office determined that nothing criminal has happened? Is it only a personnel matter? Is Hartman an employee of the Private Defender Panel or is he licensed by the Panel? If he is licensed how is it a personnel matter? When someone or some legal process is aggrieved in this way, is it a personnel matter? What about the aggrieved party? What was the purpose for taking the police report? How is it going to be used? WHEN IS MY DAUGHTER GOING TO RECEIVE SOME SUPPORT FROM YOUR OFFICE? I need some answers. In general, the prosecution seems much less active than the defense.

I read an article about you in the San Francisco Examiner and in that article you said, âI like being an advocate for victims.â The article continued, âWagstaffe enjoys being reminded of his work each day by the pictures of victims and their family members in his office.â And finally, the article quotes you as saying, âthe most important part (of my job) is working with victimsâ families.â From my point of view, you are not being successful at the most important part of your job.

If the justice system canât or wonât protect my daughter from further abuse, I will. I will hire my own private investigator to see if Newbould and/or Hartman have a history of this behavior. I will write the Private Defender Panel and ask for an investigation aimed at determining whether Hartmanâs license should be revoked. I will complain about the possibility that Newbould is complicit in Hartmanâs behavior to the California Bar. And, I will express my concern to Californiaâs Attorney General that San Mateoâs District Attorney is not vigorously supporting the victim of a rape by its lackluster investigation and prosecution of this case. I will insert myself firmly and visibly in this process to give my daughter the support and protection she should have under the law since San Mateo County criminal justice system isnât.

I am not anxious to undertake these efforts described above. But, I will. I would like to talk with you about all of the questions and issues I have raised in this letter before I proceed. To do so, I would be pleased to come to your office at your earliest convenience. Please let me know how you wish to proceed.



Respectfully,

Gary R. Cooper