District Attorney Ron Brown “Most Evil Man in Clatsop County, Oregon”

Editor’s Note: The nationally distributed US~Observer is dedicated to vindicating innocent men and women who are facing false criminal charges or who have been wrongly convicted. While the US~Observer prides itself on supporting good government, especially those who put their lives on the line to protect and serve, our investigations often uncover the bad apples in government – those who violate their oaths and turn away from the tenet of their positions. The US~Observer’s only goal is to see that justice is served.

District Attorney Ron Brown
Photo by George Vetter

By Edward Snook
Editor-in-Chief

Clatsop County, OR – Over the past year the US~Observer has been investigating the case of Dave Samuelson. Our findings have uncovered more than enough evidence to prove Samuelson is innocent of the vindictively filed false charges – District Attorney (D.A.) Ron Brown is attempting to convict an innocent man. Our investigation has also uncovered other reports of abuse by Ron Brown in his official capacity.

Make no exception, Clatsop County D.A. Ron Brown is not trustworthy. He serves special interests, not the public. He is a self-serving attorney who places his vendettas above the law. Most assuredly, D.A. Brown does not seek justice as his oath requires him to.

Dave Samuelson’s False Charges

Dave Samuelson with his Grandson.

Dave Samuelson is 62 years old with no prior criminal convictions. He is a loving grandfather and has been well respected by parents and adored by students, who all know him as “Coach.” The people of Jewell, Oregon believe in him and hope that the truth will win out over the false allegations that led to his false criminal charges.

The facts of Samuelson’s case paint a remarkably interesting picture, one that shows him to be completely innocent and maliciously maligned.

It all began when a parent of a student-athlete approached Samuelson – who was the Jewell School varsity basketball head coach – with allegations of impropriety against Samuelson’s assistant coach, Shannon Wood. Like any responsible person in a trusted position, Samuelson reported the allegations to the school superintendent. Never did Samuelson imagine that his decision would lead to him facing ten serious criminal charges, along with him being terminated from the position he loved.

In essence, all Samuelson had done was report what a concerned parent told him. Once he disclosed the concerns Samuelson said, “Shannon Wood retaliated against me.” The allegation he shared was about Woods’ alleged “inappropriate relationship with a parent of a student.” Both Wood, and the parent in question, Brian Meier, were having what appeared to be extramarital relations, which according to US~Observer sources, was witnessed by multiple students. Brian Meier, who was part of that allegation, was previously on the Jewell School Board.

Both Meier and Wood declined to comment for this article.

D.A. Ron Brown knew about the allegations regarding Wood, and “instead of pursuing the truth, he sent law enforcement officers to, scare, threaten and intimidate witnesses from telling what they had witnessed.” Fortunately, one good law enforcement professional is on the record apologizing for the actions of the officer who put the D.A.’s squeeze into play. This incident was recorded and will be preserved for trial. One attorney involved said, “this statement will be very useful once Mr. Samuelson is acquitted and his civil lawsuit ensues.”

Shannon Wood and Dave Samuelson giving an award

There have been many allegations levied against Shannon Wood and several people have come forward claiming they witnessed Wood’s indiscretions, confirming what Samuelson had reported. One party alleged that one student witnessed Shannon Wood eating what appeared to be a “romantic dinner” with Brian Meier, outside of normal school activities. Other students claimed to have seen them in a hotel room together during an out-of-town sporting event. It was also reported that even more students had seen them acting inappropriately together at school functions. Several individuals who know both parties believe the two were having an extramarital affair. Claims of the two “accidentally” running into one another out-of-state take the cake with one witness sharing, “how do two people who are accused of being in an unfaithful relationship accidentally run into each other at a camping trip in Idaho?”

Within three days after Dave Samuelson reported what he was told to Jewell School Superintendent, Steve Phillips, Samuelson was charged with touching Wood – on the outside of her pants – on her butt on multiple occasions. Not surprisingly, it was only after Ron Brown worked with Wood, that an initially-claimed single pat on the butt turned into multiple pats. Wood’s claim stated that the “touches” had happened more than a year earlier. The timing of the allegations against Samuelson have left many people believing it was a foolish attempt by Wood to point the finger at Samuelson – an illegitimate attempt to take the heat off herself.

Clatsop County, D.A. Ron Brown knows about everything. Brown has had evidence that supports Samuelson’s innocence for going on a year, yet he has chosen to turn a blind eye to that evidence. Perhaps the biggest reason is due to Mr. Samuelson’s wife, Ann. She is a former Clatsop County Commissioner and a “political adversary” of D.A. Ron Brown. Ron Brown was Josh Marquis’ (former District Attorney) close friend, and was appointed by Marquis when he stepped down. Marquis was reportedly at odds with Dave’s wife, Ann, when she was county commissioner. Ann and the other commissioner’s decided to “stop paying a $13,500 supplement to Marquis’ state salary. Commissioners complained the district attorney refused to cooperate with them on the county budget,” according to an Oregon Live article. Marquis wanted over $100k annually and was forced to receive $84,360.00 as a result. Several prominent people in the community have stated that the false criminal charges against Mr. Samuelson are direct, “political retributions” against his wife, and that Samuelson would not be facing criminal charges if he was not married to Ann.

As the top prosecutor for Clatsop County, Ron Brown’s primary duty is to seek justice within the bounds of the law, not merely to convict. D.A. Brown’s political bias thus far has been undeniable. At a recent hearing, D.A. Brown offered to drop nine of the ten charges against Samuelson, if he would agree to pay Shannon Wood $5,000.00. Samuelson declined the attempted extortion and the offer immediately moved to $20,000.00. This so-called “settlement conference” was really nothing more or less than attempted legal blackmail – all directed by D.A. Ron Brown.

“The D.A. (Ron Brown) wants you to know this isn’t personal.” 

During another court hearing, the Judge informed Mr. Samuelson that, “the D.A. wants you to know this isn’t personal.” If it were not personal, why would there be a need to say that? Why would those who are close to D.A. Brown, whom Brown is not aware of having already talked to the US~Observer, say the complete opposite? There is only one answer: Because Mr. Samuelson’s false criminal charges are exactly that; “political retribution.” As the US~Observer investigated Samuelson’s case and obtained evidence supporting his innocence we attempted to share some of it with D.A. Ron Brown. Instead of seeking justice, D.A. Brown did absolutely nothing. He has not responded to the factual evidence proving Samuelson’s innocence as of the date of this publication.

I’m, “the county hard-ass.”
– D.A. Ron Brown

In a 2019 article penned by the Daily Astorian, Brown referred to himself as, “the county hard-ass” after his predecessor, Josh Marquis retired, leaving Brown as the top prosecutor.

Causing a break in the ranks, some law enforcement in Clatsop County disclosed to the US~Observer how Brown has declined to prosecute hardened criminals whom they arrest. Perhaps Brown, “the county hard-ass” is burning bridges within law enforcement – with good cops. One thing is certain, the US~Observer has irrefutable evidence that Brown is currently prosecuting innocent citizens of the county, while declining to prosecute life-long criminals. This must be troubling for Clatsop County residents and equally troublesome for the honest law enforcement professionals within the community who put their lives on the line to arrest these criminals; criminals Brown will not prosecute.

For Dave and Ann Samuelson, justice can’t come fast enough. Dave has already suffered a major heart-attack while facing these false and ludicrous criminal charges. Meanwhile, Ann has faced the threat of being charged with witness tampering. Documents and recordings prove Ann was investigated from 11/4/2019 to 11/9/2019, yet Ann has never even been interviewed about the false claims against her or her husband.

This one fact alone proves beyond any doubt whatsoever that the charges against Samuelson and the threat of charges against his wife Ann are a vindictive and malicious, one-sided action undertaken by the Clatsop County District Attorney’s Office and the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Department. The threats against the Samuelson’s will likely continue until Dave Samuelson has his day in court and is acquitted of these bogus charges!

D.A. Brown’s Laundry List of Corruption

Ron Brown posing with his black cat

Samuelson’s case has clearly established that D.A. Brown does not operate with the best interest of the Clatsop County public in mind. The following facts illuminate Brown’s corruption:

1. In August of 2020, the US~Observer published allegations from a highly credible witness that Clatsop Deputy Sheriff Chance Moore committed the crimes of Witness Tampering and Obstruction of Justice. Ron Brown was made aware of this factual information and to date, has failed to even investigate. Brown’s refusal to investigate this serious, alleged crime is every bit as bad as the crime being committed in the first place. It would be wise and prudent for Clatsop County Sheriff Matthew Phillips to take care of this cover-up before he gets drug into Brown’s bizarre mess.

2. Ron Brown has failed to act on the fact that Shannon Wood’s ridiculous complaint against Dave Samuelson was obvious retaliation – he instead, stacked the “pat on the butt” to ten pats on the butt.

3. Ron Brown has used law enforcement to scare, intimidate and threaten witnesses who have damning evidence against Shannon Wood. Brown has not investigated the Jewell School Board acting as judge and jury against Samuelson and another employee. Judge Peterson wrote a judicial opinion regarding this and a civil trial remains in the future against the School board and administration.

4. Ron Brown has reportedly conspired with other state agencies to further intimidate innocent people his office is prosecuting.

5. Brown has failed to acknowledge or investigate Shannon Wood’s much more heinous complaints against other staff members at Jewell School, her lawsuit against the school, or parent complaints about her coaching at the school.

6. Ron Brown has turned a blind eye to the reported and conspired bad acts by Jewell School Dist. Superintendent Steve Phillips. Phillips stepped down from his last job over unethical actions for which he publicly apologized.

7. Ron Brown will not recognize Judge Paula Brownhill’s denial of Shannon Woods’ attempt to get a bogus restraining order against Dave Samuelson.

8. Ron Brown has been witnessed meeting and laughing with people whom Dave Samuelson has fought in court – people Samuelson is trying to protect his Grandson from.

9. Ron Brown has used his position to attempt to extort money from Samuelson via multiple plea deals where he offered to drop charges against Samuelson if he pays $5k, then $20k.

10. Ron Brown’s own cousin, Greg Brown stated on social media after Brown became District Attorney, “My Cousin Ron now has the means to use the legal system to make your life a living hell…” Amazingly, this statement was taken directly from Ron Brown’s own Facebook page, showing his overt pride in this abusive statement.

11. Ron Brown has used his government position to retaliate against his political adversaries.

12. Ron Brown has declined to prosecute career criminals for felony crimes.

13. Ron Brown has declined to prosecute people who have been accused of child sex abuse by highly credible victims/accusers. A Portland Attorney has stated, “Clatsop County is not known for prosecuting child abuse.”

14. Ron Brown has failed, on multiple occasions, to prosecute abusers of women who have reported being physically abused – even raped in one instance. Most of the domestic abuse survivors who talked to the US~Observer are deathly afraid of retaliation if they come forward.

15. Ron Brown has allowed drug dealers to allegedly sell drugs from the private property they were trespassing (squatting) on. He reportedly allowed this to occur so Sheriff’s deputies could work with the dealers as “Confidential Informants” at the expense of the law-abiding Clatsop County private property owner.

16. Ron Brown has failed to prosecute people who have been cited/arrested for harassing and threatening a local Vietnam Veteran during his daily walks. This person now carries a gun everywhere, fearing for his life because of Ron Brown’s inability to prosecute the criminals who have threatened him. This Veteran has lost all faith in Ron Brown.

17. Ron Brown has failed to prosecute criminals who have been arrested for felony theft – people who are also witnesses in cases where he needs their help to prosecute innocent, political adversaries of his.

18. Clatsop County law enforcement professionals have stated that Ron Brown has created an internal divide over declining to prosecute criminals they arrest.

19. Ron Brown has allegedly used a few law enforcement officers to threaten witnesses who have beneficial evidence; beneficial toward innocent people Brown is currently prosecuting.

20. One law enforcement officer in Clatsop County has stated that Ron Brown is corrupt and extremely dangerous!

Ron Brown with his wife at Clatsop Co. Courthouse.
Photo by George Vetter

So much for Ron Brown’s ethics, credibility, and morality… While the preceding accusations against Brown are overwhelming, be apprised that these are merely a few that have been vetted. The US~Observer has numerous others we are currently looking into. Stay tuned for much more…

Contact the US~Observer if you have any information regarding anyone named in this article – editor@usobserver.com.