Healdsburg murder suspect claims illegal eavesdropping

A Healdsburg man charged with murder in the death of his sister's boyfriend claims he is a victim of prosecutorial misconduct in a case handled by the Sonoma County district attorney, Jill Ravitch.

Jarrod Miller, 29, is alleging in court documents that investigators improperly taped a jailhouse visit with an older brother and illegally recorded a discussion in a separate case between another defendant and that person's lawyer.

Miller's attorney, Joe Bisbiglia, seeks to have the case dismissed or, if it is not, have Ravitch's office removed from it because of mistakes that he said led to the commission of three felonies by the lead detective.

"It's egregious conduct," Bisbiglia said Tuesday. "There can be no reasonable explanation for it. The most sacrosanct right we have is privileged conversations."

Miller is accused of shooting Tim Neuer, also 29, on March 8 after an argument outside the Alexander Valley house Neuer shared with Mandy Miller, 24.

Prosecutors haven't explained a motive for the slaying or said if the 1,500 marijuana plants found at Neuer's house were connected to the killing. Jarrod Miller has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.

Ravitch, who took office Jan. 3, announced at Miller's arraignment said she would personally take the case, fulfilling a campaign promise to get managers into the courtroom. Deputy District Attorney Scott Jamar is assisting her.

She said she knew of no intentional wrongdoing but was aware a recording device was used in an interview with Miller. Also, she said she was informed it may have been present during an unrelated jail visit.

Ravitch said she ordered that no one listen to the inadvertent recording and said it would be handed over to the court. Otherwise, she said was not familiar with specific details of Miller's allegations beyond the basic charges.

"I can't respond to something if I haven't seen," she said Wednesday. "I don't know what counsel is alleging. We endeavor to follow the law and we work with investigative agencies to make sure they follow the law."

In 2005, Ravitch, then working as a defense attorney, alleged prosecutorial misconduct when she discovered her client's phone calls with her from the jail had been recorded. She asked Judge Raima Ballinger to dismiss attempted murder charges against Daniel Vanguilder of Rohnert Park, who was later convicted of ramming his SUV into his estranged wife's minivan.

But the judge rejected the request, finding the information didn't compromise the case. Ravitch responded at the time that Ballinger was "basically sanctioning" the taping of confidential conversations.

It's common for the jail to tape phone calls and pass recordings along to prosecutors. Inmates have no legal expectation of privacy. The same holds true in the thousands of jailhouse visits each year. Some are recorded and others are not, said Sheriff's Capt. Philip Lawrence.

Conversations between inmates and their lawyers are private, he said.

Lawrence said he knew of Miller's claims and that an investigation was ongoing. "If that was done it would be an accident," he said. "A mistake."

Bisbiglia said mistake or not, what happened in the jail March 14 was a serious crime.

It began when sheriff's Det. Brandon Cutting, the lead investigator on the case, planted a hidden microphone in a jail visiting area and encouraged Miller's brother, Chad Miller, to question him about the shooting, Bisbiglia said.

Normally, such a recording would be permitted but it was illegal because Chad Miller was acting, even if inknowingly, as a "state agent" in collecting evidence, Bisbiglia said.

Previously, after Cutting planted the microphone on the side of a jail trash can, another inmate had a visit there with his attorney, Bisbiglia said. That 25-minute conversation was recorded in violation of attorney-client privilege laws and may have been shared with prosecutors, Bisbiglia said.

Chad Miller on Wednesday denied that he was working with police or that he knew about plans to record his visit. He said he told detectives he was going and they urged him not to. "I had no idea there was a bug in there," he said Wednesday.

Bisbiglia said he became aware of the recordings in the past week after reviewing a police evidence log. Miller apparently made no incriminating statements, but he wants the case dismissed or at least handled by a prosecutor form another county.

If Ravitch is disqualified, it will be the second time in her tenure that a major case was handed over for potential conflicts. In January, Ravitch recused her office from the prosecution of a hit-and-run death in Cloverdale after it was revealed that prosecutors may have erred in notifying the victim's family of court hearings.

The next hearing in June 3 before Judge Arthur Wick.

"I don't see how they can remain impartial in this case," Bisbiglia said.