A Sonoma County sheriff's captain refuted allegations Thursday that a detective broke the law in secretly recording a jailhouse visit between a Healdsburg murder suspect and his older brother.
Capt. Matt McCaffrey said investigators did not send or encourage Chad Miller to visit 29-year-old Jarrod Miller, who is charged with killing his sister's boyfriend March 8.
Instead, McCaffrey said the elder Miller told Det. Brandon Cutting he wanted to talk to his brother at the jail, so Cutting placed a hidden device in the visiting area to record the conversation - an accepted investigative practice.
McCaffrey said Cutting was careful not to suggest the meeting as alleged by Jarrod Miller's lawyer because that could taint any evidence. In fact, Cutting urged Chad Miller not to go, McCaffrey said.
The only mistake came when the recording device picked up another conversation between an unrelated defendant and his lawyer, he said. But detectives didn't listen to it and turned it over to the district attorney and defense lawyers, McCaffrey said.
"Sheriff Freitas is aware of the facts regarding this incident and believes Detective Cutting acted ethically, within (department) policy and the law," McCaffrey said in a written statement.
On Wednesday, Jarrod Miller's lawyer, Joe Bisbiglia, had claimed prosecutorial misconduct and accused the detective of three felonies connected to what he called illegal eavesdropping.
Bisbiglia alleged Cutting made Chad Miller act as his agent and that he violated jail visiting laws by sending him without special permission. Also, he said Cutting violated attorney-client privilege.
Bisbiglia said he would seek at a June hearing to have Miller's charges dropped or to have Sonoma County prosecutors removed from the case because of conflicts. District Attorney Jill Ravitch is the lead attorney.
Bisbiglia could not be reached for comment Thursday.
McCaffrey denied any allegations of wrongdoing. He said the proof is in a 30-minute video of Chad Miller talking to Cutting that was made when he was interviewed as a potential witness. It shows the detective tried to discourage him from making the March 14 visit, McCaffrey said.
He said the accidental audio recording happened because of a "miscommunication" with jail staff.
"If you look at the tape, it's obvious our detective knows where the line is," McCaffrey said. "He doesn't even come close to it."
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