Domestic violence charges filed against embattled Tri-Cities judge by sheriff’s office
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Accused Tri-Cities judge
Superior Court Judge Sam Swanberg is accused of assaulting his ex-wife and harassing an ex-girlfriend. Check in with the Tri-City Herald as we report the latest on the story.
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A Tri-Cities judge has been charged with domestic violence for assaulting his ex-wife, according to newly filed court documents.
Benton-Franklin Superior Court Judge Sam Swanberg was cited with two counts of fourth-degree assault domestic violence in Franklin County District Court.
He’s scheduled to enter a plea to the charges on Feb. 8. A temporary protection order for Stephanie Barnard, Swanberg’s ex-wife, is in place until then.
A 1-year no-contact order is already in place in Benton County to prevent him contacting his ex-girlfriend, who said he had harassed her after their breakup. Those harassment allegations have been referred to an outside prosecutor for review.
Swanberg’s attorney Scott Johnson said that they were not aware of the Franklin County investigation prior to the citation being issued. The citation was filed directly with the Franklin County District Court by the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff’s investigators said in the court documents that they attempted to contact Swanberg, and identified themselves as detectives investigating the matter, but he did not return their calls.
Swanberg was served a copy of the criminal citation and the protection order at his current home at 9:43 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 14, by a sheriff’s department detective, a detective sergeant and two deputies, according to the court documents.
Attorney disputes filing
Swanberg told the Tri-City Herald last week that he would not be stepping down amid calls for his resignation, including by the Tri-City Herald’s Editorial Board. The editorial board is not involved in news reporting.
“He absolutely isn’t going to step down, some rogue deputy took it upon themselves to file this without consulting any prosecuting authority,” Johnson told the Herald on Tuesday.
He said he finds it extremely suspicious that Swanberg was charged after a Herald story was published where his client disputed his ex-wife accounts. In the affidavits, investigators cite Swanberg’s continued public comments as part of their investigation.
Swanberg was accused of abuse by Barnard in a court filing last month. The filing was part of supporting documentation in the civil case requesting a no-contact order brought by his ex-girlfriend Sila Salas.
After the allegations came to light, an investigation was opened by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the citation was issued. The charges are misdemeanors punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and up to 364 days in jail.
Barnard told sheriff’s detectives that the photos she took of Swanberg dragging her happened at their home on Feb. 8, 2021.
She said he dragged her when she was downstairs in their shared home and noticed Swanberg had purchased several new items, according to the affidavit. Though they were separated, he was staying in a room in the home.
When she began taking pictures of the items, she said Swanberg became angry, pushed her to the ground and attempted to drag her out of the room. Because she was in the process of taking photos of the items with her phone, she was able to photograph Swanberg dragging her.
She told investigators that a photo of a bruise came from a separate incident several days later when Swanberg shoved her.
She told investigators that during this incident Swanberg had been lying in bed, while she was standing nearby talking to him. He “jumped up and shoved her right out of the slippers she was wearing, and told her to leave.”
Barnard said Swanberg commented that he would take photos of how close the slippers were to the bed to, saying it would “prove she provoked the incident.”
In the affidavit, the detective said that no evidence they have obtained would indicate that he acted in self defense.
Investigators also said Barnard was reluctant to give a statement, and when asked why she said “she knows Swanberg has ‘dirt’ on her and he will try and ruin her to try and save himself. She spoke several times of not wanting to upset him for fear of what he will do.”
At the time, she declined a request for a protection order. The detectives wrote that they consulted with their superiors for guidance, and determined that “because of the circumstances of this case, the attempts to publicly smear (Barnard), and the allegations of prolonged violence against her, (Barnard) did not feel safe and this was directly contributing to her apprehension about disclosing further information.”
The documents say Sheriff Jim Raymond contacted District Court Judge Jerry Roach and told him he would need to recuse himself.
Pasco Municipal Court Judge Craig Stilwill was brought in as a District Court judge pro tem to review the case, and he agreed there was probable cause and issued an emergency no-contact order until the arraignment.
Swanberg is one of seven Superior Court judges and three court commissioners who handle civil and felony criminal cases, divorces, paternity and custody issues in the two counties. He oversees cases in Benton and Franklin County, including Kennewick, Richland and Pasco. He has been on the bench for about four years.
It wasn’t immediately clear Tuesday how this will affect his return to work after being on leave during the earlier allegations.
Abuse allegations
His ex-girlfriend said that Swanberg began to harass her after the end of a 5-month relationship. In the filings she also said she reported the alleged harassment to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. Salas was granted a one-year protective order, and the harassment claims have been referred to an outside prosecutor for review.
In Barnard’s supporting documentation, she claims Swanberg had been abusive to her over the course of their 33-year marriage, and she decided to come forward when she saw what she believed to be a pattern of abuse continuing with Salas.
Barnard included photographs of a bruise, as well as pictures that appeared to show Swanberg dragging her by the ankles.
Swanberg’s attorney Johnson called Barnard’s claims an attempt to create “clickbait.”
Johnson previously questioned why Barnard continued to support Swanberg as he ran for elected office, and speculated that she was perhaps upset about finding out Swanberg was seeing someone much younger.
“It is hard to square this with the fact that, if you believe what she’s saying, that she was physically abused for 33 years,” Johnson said. “I don’t know many people who would live in that situation that would try to actively put an abuser in a position of power.”
Last Friday Swanberg and Johnson released text message exchanges and a 13-second video clip of a confrontation to local media, claiming Barnard was the aggressor.
This story was originally published January 18, 2022 at 1:54 PM.
