Man who camped 5 hours outside home of lawmaker’s daughter denies ‘stalker’ charge
Standing outside the Franklin County Courthouse, a Kennewick man on Wednesday denied allegations that he stalked the adult daughter of a Washington state senator.
Trevor Delorme, 21, was charged with a gross misdemeanor after police arrested him on April 30 for allegedly camping for several hours outside a house owned by Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco.
But following a regular pretrial court appearance, Delorme told the media that he was attempting to verify Torres’ address on her voter registration and that he meant no harm to her family.
Challengers believe Torres lives at that home occupied by her daughter, rather than an address on Road 64.
“It’s part of our rights,” Delorme said. “We can question our elected officials without persecution. And, personally, I don’t want to be represented by someone... who is jumping around the district.”
“I did nothing wrong. This is a protected activity, and the fact that these charges are being brought against me is bogus,” he said.
Delorme said he was there on his “own volition,” though his attorney, Kevin Holt, said it was the Benton County Republican Party that sent him to check out the house.
Delorme said the Franklin County Auditor’s Office and the campaign of Torres’ opponent, Gabe Galbraith, provided some guidance and answered his questions about the challenge process.
“That assistance has been more of what I need to make a solid case against Nikki,” Delorme said.
Galbraith could not be reached Wednesday afternoon about his role in the allegations.
Questions about Torres’ eligibility to run for the 8th Legislative District’s Senate seat have stirred ever since she announced her campaign in January. Candidates running for seats in the Washington Legislature must live and be an eligible voter within the district where they are running.
Torres has lived in Pasco for 45 years, but she moved and changed her voter registration in 2022 to an address north of the city in order run for the 15th Legislative District’s Senate seat.
She’s represented that district for three years in the Washington Legislature.
After a redistricting battle in federal court changed legislative boundaries and drew her out of the district, she contemplated running for other offices before changing her registration in February to a different home on Road 64 located within the 8th Legislative District.
Citing the police report, Delorme said he was just one of several individuals who had been coming by the home of Torres’ 26-year-old daughter to gather evidence. The address had previously been listed on PDC filings when Torres served on the Pasco City Council.
Labeling the visits as stalking is “outlandish,” he argues.
Delorme says he’s never met Torres nor her family. He stopped by the home multiple times over three days, and says he did take photos but none of Torres’ daughter or granddaughter.
Holt cast doubt on whether prosecutors will even pursue the case. Stalking cases have traditionally been against suspects of domestic violence or sexual assault crimes, not those doing political work, he said.
“There are facts that are not made up: He was parked in front of the house, there were people that came by and went in and out of the house. But the motive for why he is there is a made-up motive,” Holt said.
“What makes (Torres’ daughter) come to the conclusion that he’s out there stalking her? I think that the police just jumped on that assumption, and they’ve been stuck with it ever since,” he said.
Charging documents released
Franklin County District Court released court documents to the Tri-City Herald on Wednesday that shed light into the details surrounding Delorme’s arrest.
Pasco police were called out to her daughter’s home about 5:30 p.m. on April 30 for a report of a suspicious person. The caller told the dispatcher that a man had been outside the house “for hours and was taking pictures of her.”
Delorme was allegedly in front of the house for about five hours that day. He was described by police as being in “his early 20s with dark hair, mustache, average build wearing square Ray Ban type glasses and black clothes.”
“Reporting party stated she had snuck through the backyard to get to her house and that he was eventually ‘spooked’ away,” police documents read.
Officers identified Delorme through his license plate seen on home surveillance, and later arrested him at his Kennewick home.
“The victim stated she was concerned about returning home with her daughter and would park her vehicle down the street and walk to her residence to avoid being seen, due to fear,” documents read.
She told police the alleged stalking continued for several days which left her in fear.
A week after Delorme’s arrest, Pasco voter Richard Weiss filed his own challenge to Torres’ voter registration.
Weiss claimed the state senator does not live on Road 64, though Torres has documentation refuting the claim.
Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton’s office is currently reviewing the ballot challenge. A hearing is still listed as “to be determined.”
Politics have added a layer of complexity to the procedures in Delorme’s criminal case and Torres’ voter registration challenge since the state senator has been endorsed by some Franklin County elected officials.
Holt said at Delorme’s court hearing that Prosecutor Shawn Sant had recused himself from the case due to his private support of her candidacy.
