Stephanie Croston

    Rob Schroeder of Seward has had enough and is taking to heart the quotation carved on the state capitol building-"The salvation of the state is in the watchfulness of its citizens."
     After reading Judge Alan Gless's ruling on the Lucas Peterson case, Schroeder decided to file an affidavit requesting a recall election for Seward County Sheriff Joe Yocum and Seward County Attorney Wendy Elston.
     "Our elected officials were handed this case and asked to find justice for this child that was brutally murdered," Schroeder said. "Instead of performing these duties, which baby Trista deserved, they failed."
     Schroeder described himself as "appalled by the crucial mistakes in the investigation and prosecution of Lucas Peterson."
     "They know the rules," he said Feb. 27. "They were either incompetent or unethical. They didn't abide by the rules of the game."
     Schroeder filed the recall affidavit in Seward County Court Feb. 27. According to state law, the filing clerk must notify the officials, who have 20 days to submit a defense statement of 60 words or less, if they choose. That statement will be included on the petition.
     Signatures must be gathered within 30 days of filing the petition. In order for the question to go to a vote, the petition must be signed by at least 35 percent of the total number who voted for that office in the last general election. In the 2006 general election, 4,580 people voted for the county attorney, and 4,907 voted for the county sheriff. Both ran unopposed.
     Each person signing the petition must be a registered voter and live in Seward County.
     The petition is for a recall election to take place, Schroeder said. Because 2008 is an election year, a special election could only be held in July, August or September, according to state statute.
     "Anyone who would have made this caliber of mistake at their place of employment would have been fired," Schroeder said. "As elected officials, the voters of Seward County are responsible for holding them accountable."
     He is planning an informational meeting for 10 a.m. Saturday, March 8, at the Seward Civic Center auditorium.
     Both Elston and Yocum said they would file responses to the recall affidavit.
     "I adamantly deny the charges," Elston said Feb. 27. "I will continue to advocate for Trista and the rights of victims in the county."
    Rulings
     According to Gless's rulings filed Feb. 20, 2008, local officials made multiple mistakes in their April questioning of Peterson regarding the location of his one-year-old daughter, Trista, who had been missing since January.
     Peterson was not advised of his Miranda rights before being questioned by a sheriff's deputy three times on March 28, 2007, or before a corrections officer talked to him March 30 about Trista's location. Gless ruled that all statements made to the deputy on March 28 and to the corrections officer on March 30 should be suppressed.
     Peterson did waive his Miranda rights when he was questioned by another sheriff's deputy March 30 and April 2. However, he was not re-advised of his rights before questioning April 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 or 17. Peterson's statements on April 2, 3 and 4 are not suppressed because they fall under the Miranda reading on April 2. Statements between April 12 and 17 are suppressed because Miranda was not reread.
     However, Gless wrote, because Peterson's statements were not coerced, "the physical evidence derived from all of those statements is not suppressed.
     When Elston talked to Peterson on April 3, the ruling said, Peterson "wanted to plead guilty to all of the charges so he could get out and look for Trista. According to Ms. Elston, she told Lucas 'there wasn't gonna be charges.' He said, 'thank you' and she 'kind of smiled at him.'"
     During that interview, Peterson was not advised of his constitutional rights, nor was his court-appointed counsel present, Gless wrote.
     Gless concluded that Peterson's actions on April 12 in leading officers to Trista's body were motivated by a promise of leniency made by sheriff's deputies and should be suppressed.
     "Lucas disclosed Trista's location because the deputies promised him that he would not be charged with any felonies if he helped them find Trista's body," Gless wrote.
     Because of that promise, Gless wrote, the state should honor the agreement and only charge Peterson with concealing the death of a human, which is a Class I misdemeanor.