By Edward Snook
Investigative Reporter
![Tim Thompson](images/tim-thompson-site.jpg)
D.A. Tim Thompson
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Wallowa County, OR. - Go to www.usobserver.com and read “Frivilous
$12 Million Dollar Lawsuit” for much needed background on this case
and the many allegations associated with it. Then read “Corruption
Costs MILLIONS” on the top front of this edition and you will have
much insight into why the stalking charge that Union County District Attorney
Tim Thompson is pursuing against Lloyd Trackwell is a blatantly, false criminal
charge.
Lloyd Trackwell was investigating
Bruce and Venese Hampton, “owners” of
the Pocket Ranch in Wallowa County for alleged fraud against the Bank of
Missouri. Trackwell was an employee of the bank until the bank’s insurance
company “threw him under the bus.” He was an employee of the
bank until Umatilla, Oregon Circuit Court Judge Daniel Hill jumped into bed
with the Hostetters and the Hamptons and helped them obtain a $2.4 million
dollar settlement with the bank’s insurance company - All because Trackwell
had found out where the bank’s alleged collateral had ended up, i.e.
the Pocket Ranch.
Now, let’s start exposing the blatant corruption in the Trackwell
Stalking Case. And, let’s all remember that the US~Observer isn’t
investigating Lloyd Trackwell; we are investigating the Hostetters, the Hamptons
and the false charges that have been leveled against Trackwell. A fact is
a fact, unless you allow people like Rahn Hostetter and Bruce Hampton to
turn things around and avoid the fact – They are both true artists
at doing this, so stay with me and we will get to the truth about the Trackwell
Stalking case.
![Mona Williams](images/mona-williams.jpg)
D.A. Mona Williams
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In August of 2010, Rahn
and Zach Hostetter reportedly urged Mona Williams to file criminal stalking
charges against Lloyd Trackwell. She refused. All
three of them knew that Trackwell had been reporting information about alleged
crimes to state and federal authorities. Williams declined to prosecute,
but when Zach Hostetter filed a civil complaint and gave a copy to Oregon
State Police (OSP) Trooper Barry Taft, Williams told Taft that under Oregon
law he had no choice but to serve the complaint on Trackwell, because there
was probable cause. Taft had numerous contacts with the Hostetters and the
Hamptons about the citation, but never attempted to contact Lloyd Trackwell
before serving it on him. On May 11, 2011, Taft reportedly testified that
he made no attempt to investigate the allegations prior to serving the citation
on Trackwell.
Trackwell was served
with a criminal citation that ordered him to appear within three days or
face arrest. Yet
when he appeared, no officer or District
Attorney appeared to prosecute the citation. Instead, Zach Hostetter showed
up and prosecuted the stalking citation as a “civil matter”.
![Judge Daniel Hill](images/judge-hill.jpg)
Judge Daniel Hill
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Judge Mendiguran held
a 20 minute hearing wherein Bruce Hampton and others testified to facts
that were never
included in the stalking citiation and
which Lloyd Trackwell wasn’t prepared to address. He then issued a
temporary stalking order under the criminal stalking statute. Judge West
then took over the case and treated it as a ‘civil matter’, even
though Lloyd Trackwell had never been served with the civil summons required
for every civil lawsuit. In one of the court transcripts that I read in this
case, Judge West was rude to Trackwell and continually kept him from talking.
This transcript also revealed that the main testimony against Trackwell came
from Pastor Bartlow of the Joseph Baptist Church and Bill Bushlen from General
Land Office in Joseph. They testified that Trackwell had came to them asking
questions about the Hamptons and telling them that the Hamptons were committing
crimes. Numerous other people have claimed the very same things about the
Hamptons – Should all the others, including a bank president be charged
with Stalking? Should La Grande Attorney Cory Larvik be charged with Stalking
for sending a letter to Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, wherein he states, “My
purpose in writing is to make a formal request for the Oregon Attorney General
to step in and take control of the Bruce and Venese Hampton Charitable Trust
I and the Bruce and Venese Hampton Charitable Trust II in order to stop the
ongoing fraud and to reclaim and preserve the assets of the trusts.”
Even though Bruce Hampton
had claimed in a July 2009 deposition that he only spent summers in Wallowa
County, he testified that Lloyd Trackwell had
driven past his acreage every day for the previous two years. Hamptons house
was shown to be over 500 feet from the road and there was no valid evidence
of any stalking whatsoever, unless one can construe that speaking with individuals
about those you are investigating to be stalking. If this is the case, then
I have stalked thousands of people thousands of times – go figure!
Judge Russell West subsequently issued a stalking protection order against
Trackwell and ordered Trackwell to pay the Hosetter law firm $3,500 in attorney
fees. Trackwell appealed. Trackwell filed a supersedeas bond for the $3,500
judgment and the Hostetter firm filed a SECOND fee application requesting
$10,000 in attorney fees for attempts to collect the first $3500 and the
appeal has yet to be ruled on. Judge Russell West awarded the Hostetter firm
a sizeable chunk of that request and now Lloyd Trackwell is handling his
own appeal of the stalking order and the thousands of dollars in attorney
fee awards against him.
After the entry of the stalking protection order, Trackwell filed several
reports with law enforcement alleging that the Hamptons were now stalking
him. Of particular concern to Trackwell was that every time he turned
on a cell phone one of the Hamptons, Zach Hostetter or Rahn Hostetter allegedly
showed up in a vehicle that followed him. Local sources, including Sheriff
Fred Steen confirmed several incidents where this appeared to be the case.
On April 18, 2011, Lloyd Trackwell sent a letter to OSP Captain Travis Hampton
complaining about harrassment by OSP officers, including Mark Knapp the husband
of Hostetter/Knapp partner Rebecca Knapp.
![Lloyd Trackwell](images/lloyd-trackwell.jpg)
Lloyd Trackwell
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On April 27, 2011, Lloyd
Trackwell reported to the Wallowa County Sheriff’s
Office that Scott Hampton was following him and that he believed these incidents
were triggered by some sort of electronic interception of his cell phone
calls. The Hamptons were allegedly stalking Trackwell, following him, showing
up wherever he happened to be, and then reporting to law enforcement that
Trackwell was violating the stalking protection order.
On April 28, 2011, Trackwell
was emailed by OSP Captain Travis Hampton that OSP Sargeant Chris Hawkins
would
be contacting him shortly to discuss his
complaint. On April 29, 2011, Trackwell was waiting to be contacted by Chris
Hawkins, and saw Hawkins’ vehicle at Scott Hampton’s house. Trackwell
was traveling on a public highway and was over 1000 feet from Scott Hampton’s
house, so he pulled over onto the shoulder of the road. Sgt. Chris Hawkins
saw Trackwell through binoculars and promptly arrested Trackwell and charged
him with violating the stalking protection order. No one ever did speak with
Trackwell about his complaint against OSP!
Lloyd Trackwell had objected
to Mona Williams handling the prosecution of the alleged stalking order,
so
Union County prosecutor Tim Thompson took
over the prosecution. Thompson actually insisted that the court order Lloyd
Trackwell to wear a GPS monitor while he is in Wallowa County—even
though he has yet to be convicted of anything! Not content with subjecting
Trackwell to this outrage, because Trackwell’s GPS wasn’t tracking
him,Thompson recently filed a motion asking the court to jail Trackwell even
though the county supplied GPS monitor wasn’t working properly! Thompson
did this even after Sheriff Steen confirmed the GPS unit was not functioning
properly. You’re getting in pretty deep Mr. Tim Thompson…
Thompson has declined
to drop charges even after being informed of the investigation of Hamptons
and
the Hostetters, because Mona Williams told him that the attorney
general wasn’t going to charge them. One has to ask, why Mona Williams,
who has a substantial enough conflict of interest with this matter that requires
Thompson to handle it, continues to talk to Tim Thompson about the case and
shows up at all of the Trackwell hearings. Even more disturbing is her assertion
that the Hamptons and the Hostetters won’t be charged! With each day
that passes, I document more and more about the conflicts of interest that
run deep in Wallowa County and the results that the conflicts produce.
Of equal concern is why
Thompson is going after Trackwell when there is no evidence of any Stalking.
Who
is Thompson doing this for? Wallowa County
Sheriff Fred Steen has stated that Trackwell hasn’t stalked anyone
and that Trackwell was supplying him with evidence of crimes, so again, why
is Thompson falsely prosecuting Trackwell and who is the recipient of Thompson’s
favors? Rest assured, I will get to bottom of this conspiracy. At this point
I can factually state that Thompson and others are blatantly violating Lloyd
Trackwell’s civil rights and I assure Thompson that his complete involvement
in this charade of justice will be recorded publicly and permanently… I
have never witnessed a more severe case of injustice, nor have I witnessed
a more clear case of wasting tax-payer dollars.
This is not only outrageous, it is unbelievable - The state has scheduled
a 4-day trial in Wallowa County Circuit Court for October 22-25, 2012. Judge
Greg Baxter is to preside over the case.
If I have accomplished anything in my factual exposure of the bad side of
Wallowa County, Oregon it is yet to be seen. I would ask each and every citizen
to take just a couple minutes and go look in the mirror. While you are looking,
realize that Wallowa County, Oregon is where you live, not where this writer
lives, and then ask yourself whether you are a spineless, worthless, coward
or an American who is responsible and demands accountability. If you fail
to look in the mirror, you already have your answer!
![Union County Courthouse](images/union-county-oregon-courthouse.jpg)
We are currently compiling a complete history on Union County District Attorney
Tim Thompson and a complete expose of his alleged conspiratorial involvement
with others in eastern Oregon. We urge anyone with information on Thompson
or others related to these issues to contact Edward Snook at 541-474-7885
or by email to editor@usobserver.com.
Editor’s
Note: On September 27, 2012, Lloyd Trackwell was in Wallowa County Circuit
Court,
with Judge
Greg Baxter presiding. Prosecutor Thompson
was attempting to have Trackwell jailed for violating the false Stalking
Order against him (the hearing was set-over). A witness stated that Hostetter
and Hampton were continually smirking at Trackwell, and that Hostetter was
attempting to intimidate him. What a damn disgrace!