ISLAND COUNTY: Prosecutor declines to file charge against man who fired gun near protest
Jessie Stensland reports from the Island County Law & Justice Center for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.
Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks determined that no charges will be filed against a man who fired shots across the street from an anti-Trump protest at Bayview on South Whidbey April 19.
Banks sent out his analysis of the evidence and the law in a memo Friday morning. The case is closed, he concluded.
They Said It
The actions of Travis Roane, identified as the tenant who fired the shots, “did not cross the line into criminal behavior,” the prosecutor’s memo states.
“Clearly, the vast majority of civic-minded people would find Mr. Roane’s response to be irresponsible and obnoxious,” he wrote. “However, bringing the prosecutorial authority of the state to bear on a person requires more than public dissatisfaction and opprobrium. Adherence to the rule of law mandates an objective determination of whether each element of a crime can be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Also, Banks found no evidence that the shooter, identified as Roane, shot into the air, stared at the protesters menacingly or purposely tried to intimidate people, as people have alleged on social media and elsewhere. In fact, Banks wrote that he found little evidence that protesters were frightened at the time.
Banks concluded that video taken during the protest showed that “none of the demonstrators appear to have taken any defensive or protective maneuvers in response to the gunshots,” he wrote.
“To the contrary, they continued to hold their signs up, barely reacting to the gunshots,” he wrote. “In Ms. Jensen’s second video, recorded after the shooting, she says that in response to the shooting she ducked but ‘nobody else did.’”
Banks wrote that he received emails from people claiming that “several people hit the ground” without identifying those people or providing any specific details.
In his legal analysis, Banks found that no state or local laws prohibit the discharge of firearms in the location of the home. The potential crimes that his office considered were assault in the second degree, reckless endangerment, unlawful handling of a weapon, unlawful discharge of a firearm and disorderly conduct.
The memo describes the analysis of each potential charge and the reasons prosecutors declined to charge Roane. Banks wrote that there is insufficient evidence that he intended to create fear or intimidate people, which are necessary elements of several of the charges.
“More likely, taken as a whole, the gunshots, the placement of the ‘Trump’ sign, and the revving the dirt bikes, strongly suggests that Mr. Roane’s intent was to annoy the protesters and convey his displeasure with their demonstration,” Banks wrote. “However childish his response to the protesters may have been, it does not amount to criminal intimidation, or the crime of brandishing.”
“It is our sincere wish that interactions between peaceful demonstrators and those who disagree with them remain civil and non-violent,” the memo concludes.
Ed. Note: Island County Prosecuting Attorney Greg Banks indicated “No Party Preference” when he last ran for re-election in 2022. In previous elections, he stated that he preferred the Democratic Party.
