Case Chronology

The Joel Dufresne Case – A Chronology of Events

2001-10-24: Angela Wiertalla is arrested for driving with open intoxicants in a motor vehicle and violation of restricted driver’s license. Material in the abnormally persistent efforts of Angela to deceive the police.
Attachment A: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident Report 2001-7116-I

2002-01-24: Angela Wiertalla is involved in a serious traffic accident involving injury, in which she was operating under the influence of alcohol. She struck another vehicle, the driver of which was unconscious from injury. Material in Angela’s efforts to deceive the police and blaming the cause of the accident on the injured victim.
Attachment B: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident Report 2002-520-I

2003-09-03: Thomas Wiertalla, Angela’s brother, dies of a congenital heart defect while having an altercation with Adam Paskle in Angela’s presence. Paskle was Angela’s boyfriend, at the time.

Material documents from the death of Thomas W. include:
Attachment C: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident/Investigation Report 2003-6139
Attachment D: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Supp. Report Case No. 2003-6139 by Dep. Copeland
Attachment E: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Supp. Report Case No. 2003-6139 by Dep. Johnson
Attachment F: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Supp. Report Case No. 2003-6139 by Dep. Erickson
Attachment G: 2003-09-08 Statement of CCE Central Dispatch Team Leader, Kimberly Idalski
Attachment H: Mich. Attachment IDept. of State Police Original Incident Report 78-2462-03(25), File Class 09001
Attachment I: 2003-09-08 Statement of Angela W

Together these documents are extremely material to credibility. Angela was astonishingly irresponsible in the vital matter of a 911 call she promised to make but did not, regarding her dying brother. Her family expected her to be unreliable. Her statement, in the matter, is not consistent with the accounts of all others present. The argument began over a lie Angela told. Her mental illness and substance abuse problems were significant impairments. All this was known to Emmet County Prosecutor, James Linderman.

2003-09 to 2003-10 (Approx): Joel and Angela start a relationship together.

2004-09-20: Angela is treated at Northern Michigan Hospital for trauma to the head, left foot and hand(s); note that by her version in trial testimony she added a “very bad” pull of the groin and a twisted ankle to the list of injuries the hospital noted. She states that an ex-boyfriend of hers, Leon Kerberskey, hit her in the head about 12 times and dragged her by the hair. She was 27 weeks pregnant. Material because of the prior, inconsistent statement in a crucial error and Leon Kerberskey was actually in Florida at the time. The charges against him for this incident were absurd. (Angela testified at trial that charges were not pressed against Kerberskey because of her refusal to press the complaint.) Angela’s mental illness includes incidents of self-injury and she has a history of false accusations-particularly against her ex-boyfriends. She reassigned blame for this incident to Joel, testifying that she only accused Kerberskey before because Joel was present at the police interview to intimidate her. The police report accurately reflects that Joel was, in fact, not present.
Attachment J: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident/Investigation Report 2004-6056

2005-02: Two family members of Hon. Joan Lefkow, a federal district court judge, are murdered by a homeless man in Chicago. The investigation initially focuses on members of a so-called White Supremacist Organization (The Creativity Movement or TCM) critical of Judge Lefkow. Michigan State Police Det. Sgt. Gwen White-Erickson is asked by the F.B.I. to investigate Joel as an associate of that suspected organization (TCM).

2005-03-01: Angela violently attacks Joel outside the Harbor Hall Outpatient Treatment Center. In the attack Joel bites the finger which Angela is fish-hooking him with. Material due to Angela’s symptoms of her mental illness which includes irrational rage and violence, contrary to her trial testimony and consistent with Dufresne’s testimony. This “Harbor Hall incident” was presented in court, in a light, incompatible with this suppressed police report. A witness to this incident would be intimidated prior to trial (Kerry McGinn, by Trooper Armstrong) and this incident led Angela’s doctor to re-evaluate her prescriptions for treating her mental illness. Finally, Angela’s substance abuse problems and willingness to contact the police, both issues at trial, are substantiated by this police report.
Attachment K: Petoskey Public Safety Incident/Investigation Report 2005-1156

2005-03: Murders of Judge Lefkow’s family members are solved conclusively and all suspicion is removed from Joel and his associates.

2005-04-13: Angela is arrested for retail fraud (theft of caffeine pills). Material in the abnormally persistent efforts of Angela to deceive the police, this report impeaches Angela’s trial testimony and bolsters Joel’s testimony on many issues, such as her substance abuse problems, reasons for missing work and (see 2005-08, below) the ability of Angela to safely contact the police.
Attachment L: Emmet County Sheriffs Dept. Incident/Investigation Report 2005-1792

2005-06-25: Angela and Joel travel to Wexford County to attend a wedding and, while there, have a violent argument known as the “Cadillac incident” Angela is then hospitalized at Munson Medical Center where tests reveal her blood- alcohol level to be 0.13% at 06.10 hours (she later testifies she had only 2 shots of liquor).
Attachment M: Michigan Dept. of State Police Original Incident Report 76-1644-05(22)

2005-06-27 to 2005-07-03 (Approx.): Angela W. is given a thorough follow up examination which finds no signs of sexual abuse.

2005-08: Angela serves a jail term for the 2005-04-13 retail fraud, during which she can definitely contact the police safely (this is successfully kept out of the record and she testifies that she was never able to safely contact the police).

2005-12-19: Joel and Hale Dufresne, minor child, go to Florida to visit family.

2005-12-28: Joel contacts Angela, first by telephone and then by logging in together on Yahoo! Chat. Angela sets up a web cam at Joel’s request. The entire episode is a typical communication between consenting adults and is free of any threats or coercion, as forensic analysis of Joel’s computer later verifies (quite contrary to allegations and testimony by Angela). This forensic analysis was conducted by the Michigan State Police.

2005-12-30: Joel and Hale return home to Michigan.

2006-02-14: Joel finds an empty bottle of cough syrup in their home and comes to believe Angela relapsed by drinking it. Acting in accordance to an agreement reached between them, following the 2005-04-13 retail fraud arrest, to the effect that if Angela has a drug relapse Joel would leave her. Joel takes his son, their belongings and leaves. Angela contacts her probation officer, Mark Hopkins, for help. Hopkins sends Det. Sgt. White-Erickson to her. Angela’s father, Fred W., is a friend of Mark Hopkins and is acquainted with White-Erickson. White-Erickson questions Angela, elicits allegations of criminal sexual conduct from her, then has her examined by a medical expert in sexual abuse for evidence (the results proved exculpatory).

2006-02-16: White-Erickson re-interviews Angela concerning the 2005-06-25 “Cadillac Incident” and persuades her to write a new statement which blames Joel for injuring her and adds an accusation of attempted rape. This statement is rife with blatant untruths, including the amount of alcohol that Angela had consumed, the actions of Joel as verified by police witnesses and pertinent physical details of the scene. White-Erickson files a supplemental police report.
Attachment N: 2006-02-16 Statement of Angela W

2006-02-18: Angela’s civil attorney files for custody warrant over Hale Dufresne, Emmet CC (Family Div.) No. 06-9196-DC and Hon. Frederick Mulhauser issues the warrant. Recording equipment is set up by the Michigan State Police on a phone line for use in recording conversations between Angela and Joel.

2006-02-20: Angela writes a statement for proceedings in Angela W. v Dufresne, for a personal protection order, Hon.Charles W. Johnson presiding. This statement alleged threats from Joel that must have been made after 2006-02-14 (the phrase therein, “…if I ever tried to take or see Hale….” places it after she could and did routinely take or see Hale as she wished, like any mother normally can), yet as she later testifies, Joel has yet to speak to her since leaving. Secondly, this statement contains nothing of any criminal sexual conduct allegations supposedly so weighty in Angela’s life. The PPO petition is filed.
Attachment O: Angela W. v Dufresne, Emmet CC No. 06-9199-PP, personal protection order

Later that day, Joel calls Angela from Florida. Any recording of this conversation is supposedly lost, but phone records confirm it it was exculpatory in content. It did not contain threats of any kind, by Joel.

2006-02-21: The PPO is issued. Joel calls again and speaks, mostly, to Fred W., Angela’s father. The call is recorded and again contains no threats. In this call, Joel promises to say anything Angela wants if she will talk to him.

2006-02-22: Joel calls two additional times, both recorded, both absent of threats. During the first call Angela repeatedly calls Joel an “evil sick bastard,” making it a theme for use in the next call. In that second call, Joel repeats what Angela has told him to say. In isolation, this second conversation (2006-02-22) seems inculpatory – as orchestrated by White-Erickson. Though they testified otherwise, phone records will confirm that Angela called Joel back to briefly mock him while White-Erickson laughed in the background.

2006-02-24: White-Erickson files an affidavit of probable cause based on Angela’s revised allegations from the final phone conversation recorded. The exact content of this affidavit is a matter of great importance; according to White-Erickson’s trial testimony, Eric Kaiser apparently altered her affidavit without her knowledge or consent by adding eight pages of irrelevant and very inflammatory material and citing thereof in the affidavit itself.
Attachment P: White-Erickson’s Affidavit of Probable Cause, with 8-page Attachment

White-Erickson also writes Attachment Q. Eric Kaiser writes a 21-count complaint, files it and a 21 count felony warrant is issued
Attachment Q: Michigan Dept. of State Police Original Incident Report No. 78-519-06(DS), File Class 11003

2006-02-25: A second examination of Angela is made by a medical expert for evidence of sexual assault. No rectal exam is conducted. Nothing inculpatory is found.

2006-02-27: Joel is arrested in Florida and placed in the Clay County Jail.

2006-03-02: A third examination of Angela made for evidence of sexual assault. This examination is made by Dr. Samuel Minor, Angela’s general practitioner. Dr. Minor is not an expert in sexual assault examinations. The examination finds a small scratch on the rectal lining and nothing else outside the normal. Like the two prior sexual assault examinations, this one is done at the request of White-Erickson.

2006-03-08: White-Erickson and Trooper Armstrong fly to Florida with a typewritten confession for Joel to sign.

2006-03-09: White-Erickson and Armstrong have Joel brought into an interrogation room in the Clay County Jail and chained to a chair. Custodial interrogation begins and Joel admits to some culpability in the 2005-06-25 “Cadillac Incident” regarding a domestic violence allegation. White-Erickson and Armstrong then inform Joel of the CSC allegations and give him the opportunity to sign the confession. Joel ceases cooperating and requests a lawyer. White-Erickson and Armstrong contact Eric Kaiser by telephone. After three additional hours of insisting Joel sign the confession, White-Erickson and Eric Kaiser mutually agree to give up. Joel is unchained from the chair and returned to a cell.

2006-03-10: White-Erickson and Armstrong remove Joel from the Clay County Jail in belly chains and leg irons (without socks) for transport in custody by air travel. The leg irons inflict bleeding lacerations around Joel’s ankles. Airline personnel insist the leg irons be removed prior to the flight back to Michigan from Jacksonville, Florida. The leg irons are grudgingly removed. Joel is transported in custody to Petoskey, Michigan, and placed in the Emmet County Jail. Trooper Armstrong begins monitoring Joel’s calls from jail. Joel’s mail is withheld (officially, yet without any administrative process) for the next six weeks or so.

2006-03-13: Attorney George Spanos is appointed to represent Joel. Joel objects to this appointment due to Spanos previously having represented Angela. Daniel J. Harris is appointed instead of Spanos. Joel is arraigned and signs a felony advice of rights form (Miranda). Daniel J. Harris receives a 14-page file from the Emmet County Prosecutor’s Office. This file does not include anything about or from the exculpatory 2006-02-14 ‘rape kit’ sexual assault evidence medical examination. $500,000 bond is set, pretrial conference is scheduled for 2006-03-20 and preliminary examination is scheduled for 2006-03-27.

2006-03-15: Daniel J. Harris is removed as counsel for conflict of interest and Bryan Klawuhn is appointed in substitution.

2006-03-20: Pretrial conference held.

2006-03-24: Bryan Klawuhn files a proper defense demand for discovery, requesting all police reports, exculpatory information, etc., with in 7 days.

2006-03-27: Preliminary examination convened, Hon. Richard May presiding, Eric Kaiser for Plaintiff. Due to a family emergency for Bryan Klawuhn, Daniel J. Harris appearing for Defendant.

JOEL REQUESTS A POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION FROM THE COURT. The court, prosecutor and defense counsel all promise Joel a polygraph examination. Preliminary examination is rescheduled for 2006-04-03. Polygraph examination scheduled for 2006-05-16.

Trooper Armstrong travels to Chapel Hill to interview Leon Kerbersky, an ex-boyfriend of Angela. Kerbersky informs Armstrong that Angela suffers fits of violent rage during which she must be safely restrained; that she has a history of false accusations (including CSC) against her ex-boyfriends; that Kerbersky didn’t know Joel at all but would believe him over Angela; and that Kerbersky knew others who would corroborate his statements. Armstrong writes Incident Report 3 to Incident No. 78-519-06(DS), concerning the Kerbersky interview. This highly material and exculpatory police report is suppressed.
Attachment R: Michigan Dept. of State Police Supp. Incident Report 3 to Incident No.78-519-06(DS) File Class 11003

2006-03-31: The 7 days for prosecutorial compliance with the defense discovery demand expires. Eric Kaiser has not disclosed the 2006-02-14 ‘rape kit’ results, Armstrong’s supplemental police report of his Kerbersky interview (Attachment R), nor any of the many other exculpatory documents known to the prosecution (Attachments A through M). This discovery violation is never substantially remedied, and unknown other exculpatory documents remain unavailable to the defense still.

2006-04-03: Preliminary examination reconvened and held, Hon. Richard May presiding, Eric Kaiser for Plaintiff, Bryan Klawuhn for Defense. The sole witness is Angela W. On direct examination Angela testifies that Joel was physically abusive to her and became sexually abusive, as well, after the 2005-06-25 “Cadillac incident”; that the CSC allegations originated over custody of Hale Dufresne, (Angela would testify to the opposite at trial, contradicting the register of actions in the civil proceedings); that White-Erickson’s affidavit of probable cause (Attachment P) was consistent with actual events; that she had “medical corroboration “ of rectal injury from the allegations tried as Counts 3 to 6 (at trial, this supposed medical corroboration was reassigned to Count 9 after it came out that Angela’s annual gynecological exam, occurring right after the alleged dates of Counts 3 to 6, found everything normal/unremarkable); and that Angela submitted to CSC out of fear for the safety of herself and her daughters-particularly during incidents from 2006-02-07 to 2006-02-10 in which the children were home throughout (Angela would testify at trial that the absence of the children was used to control her instead).

On cross-examination Angela testifies that the civil actions of Angela W. v Dufresne began after the CSC allegations arose (again, contrary to her trial testimony and material to her credibility and motives); that Angela couldn’t safely go to the police prior to 2006-02-14 (contrary to suppressed police reports, including Attachments K and L); that all of her conversations with Joel after 2006-02-14 were recorded phone calls, of which there were a total of three; that the final call, in that recorded series was “all a lie” contrived at the direction of White-Erickson, to make Joel appear guilty(at trial, her testimony held that tape, which was put into evidence without the previous tapes in the series, was all true); that she had hit Joel in the head with a board during the 2005-06-25 “Cadillac Incident” (at trial she changed this to having struck Joel with a mere stick and probably on the shoulder); and that she had not assaulted Joel by stabbing him with a screwdriver or attempting to gouge his eyes or dig out his Adam’s apple.

* Effective cross-examination of Angela was not possible due to the suppression of police reports.

* During Angela’s testimony, Joel elicited from the court a repeat of the promise he’d undergo a polygraph examination.

Joel was bound over on 6 counts of CSC1 and 12 counts of CSC3. After being returned to the Emmet County Jail, Joel telephoned Kerry McGinn. McGinn was employed at Harbor Hall Outpatient (see 2005-03-01) and had not only witnessed the “Harbor Hall incident” (Attachment K) during which Angela had assaulted and injured Joel, she had also witnessed other injuries from Angela on herself and on Joel. During his 2006-04-03 phone call- monitored by Trooper Armstrong- Joel requests trial testimony from Kerry McGinn to impeach Angela’s credibility.

2006-04-04: Trooper Armstrong travels to meet Kerry McGinn and her supervisors, to try to get McGinn fired from Harbor Hall if she assists in the defense of Dufresne. Kerry McGinn has, from 2006-04-04 to the present, refused to talk without a subpoena. Among Armstrong’s other activities, he also spoke (on or after this date) to other potential defense witnesses who did not testify, following calls by Joel to contact them. Brandie Degroff didn’t come forward because of the threats to her mother, Kerry McGinn, though after 2006-09-22 Brandie expressed willingness to speak with a lawyer. Bobbie Kroll, a former employer of Dufresne, had an exculpatory interview with the police; the police report therefrom is suppressed and still unavailable.

2006-04-06 (Approx.): Joel is offered a plea deal (5 to 15 years in prison). He refuses it because he is innocent of the charges.

2006-04-07: Eric Kaiser files an 18 count information felony. Although the arraignment (on 2006-03-13) was over 21 days ago, Kaiser adds a 4th-degree habitual offender enhancement. Adding a sentence enhancement more that 21 days after the arraignment is prohibited by MCR 6.112(F). This improper enhancement is never corrected.

2006-04-12: Scheduling conference is set for 2006-05-01; a notice to appear is sent to Eric Kaiser.

2006-05-01: Scheduling conference is held; Michael Findlay appears for Plaintiff from this date forward, placing departure of Eric Kaiser between 2006-04-12 and 2006-5-01. Findlay continues the prosecutorial misconduct actively.

2006-05-14 (Approx.): Bryan Klawuhn cancels the polygraph examination and sends a waiver form for it to Joel, enclosing a SASE for returning the form. Joel refused to sign the waiver.

2006-05-15: Joel is transported in custody to face aggravated assault domestic charges in Wexford County, Michigan, for the 2005-06-25 “Cadillac Incident”. Joel receives and reads, for the first time, Michigan Dept. of State Police Original Incident report 76-1644-05(22), File Class 13001; at 2005-06-25; at 2006-02-16; at 2006-03-09; and at 2006-04-03.

The parties review the police reports and statements of Angela, and a plea deal is offered which Joel rejects. The Wexford County charges are then dropped. (In the instant case, police witnesses and Findlay later imply that the Wexford County charges are still being pursued).

2006-05-16: After spending the night in the jail, Joel is transported in custody from Wexford County back to the Emmet County Jail. He learns that his polygraph examination was canceled, uses the SASE from Bryan Klawuhn to send an insistence on the polygraph examination, and retains the unsigned waiver form. Joel calls Klawuhn on the jail phone and his calls are refused.

2006-08-17: During the jury trial, Det. Sgt. White-Erickson testifies to the effect that her affidavit of probable cause in this case was altered without her knowledge or consent in a manner that is attributable, specifically, to Eric J. Kaiser.

2006-09-22: Joel, having been wrongfully convicted on 9 of the 12 counts tried, is sentenced to 50 to 75 years in prison under the 4th-degree habitual offender sentence enhancement Eric Kaiser initiated on 2006-04-07 in defiance of MCR 6.112(F), following Joel’s rejection of a plea deal.

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