A jury found Justin Rian Trobridge not guilty of one count of felony of assaulting a police officer on Friday, Feb. 3. Originating from an event on May 11, 2019, it was the oldest and one of the most constitutionally difficult cases on the 11th Circuit Court docket.
According to court documents, a 9-1-1 call was made regarding three loose dogs in Trenary that had allegedly attacked another dog. The Alger County Sheriff’s deputy responding to the call tried to make contact with the owner (Trobridge), but was able to make contact with his children, who said that Trobridge wouldn’t wake up. One of the dogs then rushed the deputy, forcing him to stumble backwards. After one of the children got the dog inside, the deputy spent multiple minutes banging against the side of Trobridge’s house. Trobridge, intoxicated, then exited his home and was directed out of his gated yard to talk with the deputy.
After a short discussion, the deputy said that he would take the dogs as evidence and Trobridge said he would not participate in the seizure and attempted to go back in the house to check on the children. An altercation broke out with both the deputy and Trobridge on the ground before the latter was subdued and taken into custody.
Video of the exchange was recorded on the deputy’s body camera the entire time. The delays from this case came from a Fourth Amendment concern called constructive entry, claiming that the deputy manufactured a way for Trobridge to interact with the police when constitutionally he did not have to. However, prosecution stated that the deputy was following protocol and looking to prevent destruction or tampering with the evidence of the dogs, given the 9-1-1 call and reason for the initial interaction between the police and Trobridge. Evidence protection is considered an exigent circumstance and one of the reasons why a police officer could not be required to obtain a warrant before entering private property.
The Fourth Amendment issue forced the case to go to the Court of Appeals for an interlocutory appeal before coming back to a trial, citing that exigent circumstances were present. Health delays and the COVID-19 pandemic also postponed the case, so there were no Sixth Amendment concerns filed for the lack of a speedy trial.
The case took one day for jury selection and to hear deliberation. At the start of the second day, both Alger County Prosecutor Rob Steinhoff and Alger County Indigent Defense Attorney Jana Mathieu made closing arguments.
“We are not here because Justin obstructed an officer. We’re here because the government has obstructed Justin from exercising his Fourth Amendment rights,” Mathieu said. “The actions of the deputy show that he wasn’t acting in an emergency circumstance or he would have entered the house. All he had to do was stay on the scene and call in for a warrant.”
Steinhoff pushed for further consideration of allegedly dangerous animals as both an emergency for others and to protect evidence.
“(The deputy) knew he would be derelict in his duties if he did not take these dogs as soon as possible,” Steinhoff said.
After the case, Steinhoff released
office.
“We’re obviously disappointed in the jury’s decision. However, it was always a close case and my office will never
hesitate to seek justice on behalf of the dedicated men and
women who serve the citizens of Alger County as police officers,” Steinhoff said.
A request for comment from Trobridge was left at the Alger County Indigent Defense office, but was not returned.
Trobridge admitted to three non-felony counts of stray dogs, which are $100 fines for each count. He must pay $425 in total fines and court costs.
“We are not here because Justin obstructed an officer. We’re here because the government has obstructed Justin from exercising his Fourth Amendment rights.”
Alger County Indigent Defense Attorney Jana Mathieu
