Charge against Vernal judge dismissed

VERNAL — Criminal charges against Vernal City Justice Court Judge Cleopatra "Pat" McRae and her adult son, Darwin Chew, have been dismissed.

Deputy Duchesne County Attorney Grant Charles said his request to dismiss the charges came after defense lawyers presented him with information that showed Chew had not committed a crime. Charles said once he decided to dismiss a theft of services charge against Chew in Naples City Justice Court, he did not believe it was appropriate to pursue an obstructing justice charge against McRae.

McRae, 65, was charged in February with the class A misdemeanor. Prosecutors alleged that she illegally kept police from making contact with her son. Naples police wanted to question Chew after a cab driver accused him of skipping out on a fare.

In court papers filed last month, McRae's attorney, Richard Mauro, argued that his client was within her rights to deny police entry into her home to speak with Chew. She also was under no legal obligation to wake Chew, who had been drinking, and have him come to the door to talk to officers, the defense attorney said.

Charles said Chew's attorney provided him with proof that his client had settled his debt with the cab company's owner. The prosecutor said he determined that the owner, not the cab driver, would have been the victim in the case.

Since Chew settled the debt with the man, Charles said he felt he couldn't continue to prosecute the theft of services charge. And since that charge was the underlying offense for the sole count against McRae, he believed he had to dismiss the charge against the judge as well.

Mauro applauded the prosecutor's decision.

"He did the appropriate and right thing and dismissed the case," Mauro said. "There just wasn't a crime that was committed."

The defense attorney also blasted the Naples City Police Department, which he said either failed to provide Charles with all the information gathered during its initial investigation or failed to conduct a thorough follow-up investigation.

"I think if that information had been made known, the case never would have been filed," Mauro said.

Naples Police Chief Mark Watkins has defended his investigators, saying in March that he "meticulously" screened the case personally before forwarding it to prosecutors for review.

Watkins could not be reached Monday for comment on the dismissal of the charges against McRae and Chew.

McRae was placed on administrative leave by Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham when the obstructing justice charge was filed. Durham signed an order Monday reinstating McRae.

E-MAIL: geoff@ubstandard.com