DA Ron Brown Forced to Bend the Knee, “In the Interest of Justice”

Dave Samuelson’s False and Malicious Charges have been Dismissed

By Ron Lee
Editor – US~Observer

District Attorney Ron Brown
Photo by George Vetter

The American people believe in justice, and that our system is designed to protect the innocent while pursuing and punishing those who have committed crimes. However, the administration of justice has been hijacked by the many prosecutors, like Clatsop County’s District Attorney (DA) Ron Brown, who use their power to convict anyone that comes up on their radar. This could be a person who the police, from a very cursory investigation or through false witness testimony, believe is the perpetrator but isn’t, and the prosecutor will do everything, including hiding/destroying evidence, to convict this innocent person. Or, it could be any ordinary, innocent person based solely on political or financial reasons that becomes the target of the prosecutor’s ire and desire to disappear or damage them through conviction. Whatever the reason, these elected prosecutors who hide behind absolute immunity, have become thugs, afraid of nothing but exposure. Just ask Dave Samuelson, a well-respected basketball coach in Jewell, Oregon, whose false charges were dismissed on 12/8/2021 because of the intense pressure the US~Observer brought against DA Ron Brown by publishing nothing but the facts.

Dave Samuelson

Being a good man doesn’t keep people from wanting to harm you. Often it is the reason you find yourself in their crosshairs. Dave Samuelson was the varsity basketball coach everyone loved at Jewell High School. He not only helped the vast amount of students who passed through his program but he was a true friend to Shannon Wood, the woman who would go on to falsely accuse him of touching her butt while she was wearing yoga pants and “annoying her.”

Just two days after Dave shared a parent’s concern regarding Wood’s behavior at an away volleyball game to Superintendent Steve Phillips – something he was obliged to do – Dave was accused of sexual harassment by Shannon Wood. It was a convenient way for Wood to get out of the hot-seat and retaliate against the person she perceived as putting her there. Wood’s allegations of the previously unreported alleged abuse prompted the District Attorney to file sex abuse charges against Dave.

Dave & Ann Samuelson

Because of the charges, among many of the other damages Dave has endured, he lost his most-loved job. Even more, Dave has suffered medically from the stress of fighting against these outright-fabricated charges, having a heart attack and almost losing his life. In fact, his whole family has suffered, and the financial costs have been staggering. Even still, Dave Samuelson has remained a good man, with a big heart – a fact many stood ready to testify to.

We All Need an Advocate

Dave Samuelson’s wife Ann is a firecracker. Not only is she an excellent real estate agent through her company Rise Above Realty, she also uses that namesake as her life’s maxim and is an amazing advocate. Whether Ann is serving the public as their representative or is battling for the rights of children, she knows that to Rise Above you need to shout it from the rooftops and do what is just. In her husband’s case, she found in the US~Observer the perfect professionals to not only prove her husband’s innocence, they would “shout it from the rooftops.” Not only did our creeds match, our experience keeping innocent people from going to jail for crimes they did not commit was just what was needed.

Whether you have issues dealing with government agencies, lawyers, and/or especially prosecutors, everyone needs a good advocate. This person must be an unrelenting force for what is right for you. It is helpful if this person is a family member, and that this person is also supported by an authority higher than themselves. In Dave’s case, it was Ann and the US~Observer. Through informing the public of what the evidence was and having told the truth about the prosecutor concealing and destroying evidence, the pressure on the elected officials to do what was right was overwhelming.

Malicious Prosecution Defined:
The Wrongful Institution of Criminal Proceedings Against Someone Without Reasonable Grounds.

Ann Samuelson contacted the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Department on 11/30/2021 to inquire about an investigation of her, based on an accusation of felony witness tampering one month after Dave was first arraigned. While Ann was never arrested for this alleged serious crime, out of concern for how Dave was being railroaded, she retained her own attorney. Living under the threat of prosecution for nearly two years was enough for Ann, which was what prompted her to contact Clatsop County Sheriff Matt Philips.

Sheriff Matthew Phillips

Sheriff Phillips answered Ann with an email on 12/1/2021 that included a letter written by the District Attorney’s office dated almost two years prior on 12/24/2019. The DA’s letter stated that no charges would be filed on Ann and ordered all digital evidence in relationship to the investigation against her be destroyed. This evidence obviously would have been used for Dave’s defense, as it is highly likely it did not fit the narrative of the District Attorney to convict Dave of a crime he did not commit.

Sheriff Phillips has demonstrated integrity and honesty by sharing the document that the District Attorney chose not to share in 2019.

It is one more thing added to the damages this District Attorney has managed to cause the Samuelsons. Ann had an attorney retained for almost two years, an attorney it turns out, that with great expense, she never needed.

Bending the Knee

Dave’s charges were dismissed on the first day of the second week of December 2021, “in the interest of justice,” according to an order written by Clatsop County Deputy District Attorney Paul Charas. How curious that the “interest of justice” would change over time… But that’s really how it is these days; innocents stand wrongly accused with no one, not even defense lawyers, holding prosecutors accountable for them knowingly destroying lives. Further, when a District Attorney has influence with a local newspaper such as the Daily Astorian who only spews the approved narrative (even if it has been proved false), there is literally zero accountability, and the abuse of power will continue until an outside organization such as the US~Observer steps in to shine light on the truth.

Now it is up to the citizens of Clatsop County to get rid of their corrupted District Attorney Ron Brown – or live with the consequences.