Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 989681.pdf

Citation: Wash. Supreme Court published opinion — 989681.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
Source: Official source
Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/989681.pdf ↗

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which required Sheriff Hatcher to surrender all weapons within his possession,

including all weapons on his person, in his vehicle, and in his homes in Kennewick

and Montana.

On October 7, 2019, KPD Commander Chris Guerrero contacted Sheriff

Hatcher to obtain his firearms. At that time Sheriff Hatcher indicated he did not

have a concealed weapons permit and “currently only had 2 firearms in his

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For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/.
In re Recall Charges Against Benton County Sheriff Gerald D. Hatcher,
No. 98968-1

possession.” Id. at 128. He further indicated he had two firearms at his Kennewick

home and “other” firearms in Montana. Id. On October 8, 2019, Sheriff Hatcher

turned over one more weapon, a Glock 9 mm handgun.

On October 15, 2019, at a court hearing for the divorce, Sheriff Hatcher’s

attorney indicated that the sheriff had turned over all of his firearms. However, Ms.

Hatcher’s attorney indicated that there were still 7 more guns that belonged to

Sheriff Hatcher in Ms. Hatcher’s Kennewick home. On the same day, Sheriff

Hatcher contacted KPD to surrender 5 additional firearms. He also notified them

that there were “several” additional firearms at his wife’s residence in Kennewick.

When KPD went to the Kennewick home, they recovered 10 firearms. Id. at 158.

Sergeant Erickson contends that Sheriff Hatcher made false and misleading

statements to public servants (KPD officers) when he failed to accurately indicate

the number of firearms he had. The voters could certainly find that it is true that

Sheriff Hatcher did not disclose a true count of the number of weapons he owned

and controlled. They could also find that his statements were false and material and