Woodman provided no receipt and did not have him sign for the items.
July 25, 2019
SAFFORD — The second trial of Manuel Campos, 38, on multiple charges will proceed despite a Graham County Superior Court finding that evidence was mishandled.
On June 13, a Superior Court jury found Campos guilty of misconduct involving weapons. Campos will be sentenced on that verdict at an Aug. 13 aggravation/mitigation hearing. He faces a second trial in September on charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, burglary and disorderly conduct.
The two trials stem from a Jan. 30, 2019, incident in which Campos allegedly entered a Thatcher resident’s home with a concealed shotgun, demanded money and discharged his weapon when the victim replied there was none. Police reportedly found Campos hiding under a Jacuzzi cover and the discarded shotgun under a bush. A shell in the gun allegedly matched another shell left in the victim’s residence, and Campos’ DNA was reportedly found on the shell in the gun.
In a July 24 evidentiary hearing, the court considered whether Clerk of the Superior Court Cindy Woodman improperly handled case evidence by releasing it to a Thatcher Police officer on June 20 due to her security concerns. As the hearing opened, Superior Court Judge Michael Peterson said it was a highly unusual situation he had not encountered before.
The officer, Sgt. Kevin West, testified that Woodman asked him to take nine items of evidence, including the shotgun, saying she could not keep them secure in the clerk’s office vault. He said Woodman argued they would be safer at the Thatcher Police Department. West said he told Woodman twice that, based on his understanding, the items must remain with the clerk throughout the trial process, but she only reiterated her concerns.
West testified that he transferred the items to the Thatcher Police Department, securing them in a vault there after documenting and resealing them. He said Woodman provided no receipt and did not have him sign for the items.
On June 26, West continued, Woodman called him twice to say she should not have released the items and asked for their return. West then requested a judge’s order before doing so, and the items were still in his custody at the time of the hearing.
In her own testimony, Woodman admitted consulting neither trial clerk Savanaha Teo nor Judge Peterson or his judicial assistant before directing West to take the evidence. Woodman claimed that Teo was out of state and unreachable. She also stated the judge was away from court June 17. When Peterson produced a calendar showing otherwise, she admitted her statement may have been inaccurate.
Woodman said she did not know who might have access to the vault, which was left unlocked during the day in the event of an active shooter incident. The office containing the vault can only be entered by using a keypad code or entering through the courtroom. Woodman said she was not sure whether former employees could still get in using their codes. She also said the office had seen approximately 50-percent employee turnover in 2019. Teo, who recently left her position — she testified on her last day — believed she was the sixth to leave this year.
From the stand, Woodman also admitted not documenting the evidence released to West, telling Judge Peterson, “I have no explanation for that.”
