Lee Werdell is accused of tampering with evidence against his stepson

GOLD BEACH — Cathy Hagen never knew her boyfriend Jeffrey Everts was a felon until after he was thrown into jail and Medford attorney Lee Werdell came to their home and took Everts’ pearl-handled pistol.

It’s against the law for felons to possess guns.

"(Werdell) said, ‘You never saw this,’ " Hagen testified Monday at Werdell’s trial for hindering prosecution. "He said, ‘This isn’t Jeff’s. This is mine. You never saw me take this.’ "

Werdell, who is Everts’ stepfather as well as sometimes his lawyer, threw the gun into the Applegate Lake.

The state attorney general’s office is prosecuting Werdell on two counts of hindering prosecution, a felony that could result in five years in prison on each count. One count is related to chucking Everts’ gun into the lake, the other to throwing away a bottle of tequila that Everts had apparently stashed behind the seat of his truck.

Not only was part of Everts’ probation that he couldn’t drink or possess alcohol, but two days before Werdell went to Hagen and Everts’ home, Everts had been involved in a drunken boating accident that resulted in the death of one of his best friends.

The prosecution presented its case Monday, and the defense will begin calling its witnesses today. The trial, before Curry County Circuit Judge Hugh Downer, is expected to conclude today or Wednesday.

It all started on Oct. 13, 2000, when Everts went to the coast to do some fishing with his friend Orlando Vigil. Everts was drinking beer before the two took Werdell’s 16-foot drift boat onto the mouth of the Rogue River. But once there, they decided to go into the open ocean, which was reeling with 10- to 12-foot swells, according to law enforcement officials who testified Monday.

Once out on the open water, the boat capsized, and Vigil drowned. Everts, who survived by clinging to the overturned boat, was arrested on a warrant after he got out of the hospital.

After hearing about the accident, Hagen and her son went to the coast to see Everts. They agreed to pick up his truck and tent and other items left at his camp site in Brookings. They found the campground littered with empty beer cans, the gun in a box of cookware. There was tequila in the truck.

Several law enforcement witnesses said knowing about the alcohol could have helped in deciding what charges to press against Everts, and also would have assisted in his prosecution.

"His (Werdell’s) conduct in destroying that evidence went beyond the bounds of the law, and that’s why we are here today," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brenda Rocklin said.

But Robert McCrea, who is representing Werdell, pointed out that Everts was charged with criminally negligent homicide, boating under the influence and reckless operation of a boat even without the tequila.

McCrea said the state’s case falls short on three counts: First, the incident didn’t occur in Curry County as alleged in the indictment. Second, Werdell’s actions did not hinder police in apprehending Everts as is required for a conviction. Third, Werdell’s intent was not to hinder prosecution, but simply to keep Everts, who had threatened suicide in the past, from hurting himself.

"Mr. Werdell knew Mr. Everts was a terrible, terrible alcoholic, but he never drank tequila," McCrea said. "He thought, ‘How do I keep him from having the gun?’ And as he drove and thought about it, he decided there are not charges on the gun pending — there’s nothing in the boating accident that involved the gun."

McCrea said Everts had possessed a gun four times that Werdell knew about and had been convicted twice.

"He was going to make sure that Mr. Everts was not going to get in possession of this gun," McCrea said. "There was no duty to contact police and say, ‘Look at what I have.’ "

McCrea also pointed out that Werdell knows the law. Not only has he worked in criminal defense, but also served as a deputy district attorney and a district attorney.

The incident might never have come up, except that after Everts was out on bail, he got violent with Hagen, a day-care provider who met Everts after placing a personal ad. In court Monday, Hagen testified that Jackson County domestic violence advocates urged her to tell Curry County officials about Everts’ gun and tequila.

After she did so, Werdell was called before a Curry County grand jury. Dennis Weaver, who was the grand jury foreman, said Rocklin started the session by reading Werdell his Miranda rights, which informed Werdell he had the right to remain silent and that anything he said could be used against him in court. But Werdell answered most questions anyway.

Weaver said Rocklin asked Werdell if he knew about Everts’ felony status, and Werdell claimed he didn’t.

Then Rocklin pulled out paperwork that showed he’d been charged as a felon in possession of a weapon and in fact, Werdell had been his attorney, Weaver said.

"He said, ‘If it’s down there and says so, I guess I did,’ " Weaver said.

Weaver said Werdell told jurors he’d thrown the alcohol away into his trash and tossed the gun into the "deepest part" of Applegate Lake.

"He said if it was Jeff’s gun ... Jeff had committed a crime," Weaver said. "There was a time during his interview when he told us he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Jeff. He said he would do anything to keep him out of trouble."

Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail ddodge@mailtribune.com