A Franklin County judge pro tem on Friday refused to throw out the criminal charges against a Kennewick man accused of stalking state Sen. Nikki Torres’ family.
Trevor Delorme, 21, is charged with one count of stalking, a gross misdemeanor, for spending several hours on April 29 and 30 outside a home owned by the Tri-Cities lawmaker. He was later arrested and spent three days in jail.
He previously pleaded innocent to the charge, asserting his innocence to the media. Delorme was allegedly working with Torres’ opponent, Gabe Galbraith, to verify where she was living in attempt to disqualify her from office this year.
Defense attorney Kevin Holt filed a “Knapstad motion” and argued Friday that there was not enough evidence to charge Delorme with a crime. He claimed Delorme’s actions were constitutionally protected and didn’t meet the standard of stalking, so there was no crime.
“This is a situation where a young man who thinks he’s doing right in the political system is working for a man who wants to better validate where this person lives, and he does investigation at his direction — and he’s the one left holding the bag for a crime that isn’t a crime,” Holt said.
But Judge Pro Tem Monica Hollenberg denied Holt’s motion, saying there was enough evidence to proceed, and that the facts and validity of Delorme’s arrest could be argued in the future.
Torres and Galbraith — both Republicans — are running this year for the 8th Legislative District’s lone Senate seat after Matt Boehnke announced he would run for Congress. Galbraith is also currently president of the Kennewick School Board.
Both Torres and Galbraith appeared on the Aug. 4 primary ballot, where she won by 6 percentage points, 52% to 46%. Both will move on to face off in the Nov. 3 general election.
The open race quickly turned from a bitter clash between two Republicans into a serious statewide controversy earlier this summer.
Torres, who moved into the district earlier this year to be eligible to run, has called on Galbraith to end his campaign amid the controversy and criminal probe. Galbraith and other Tri-City Republicans assert that they don’t believe Torres lives at her new home on Road 64.
The Franklin County Canvassing Board in July dismissed a voter registration challenge that failed to provide evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Torres didn’t live where she said she does.
Delorme has said he was gathering evidence in April for a separate challenge in hopes he could disprove Torres’ residence in the district. He parked his car for several hours outside Torres’ family’s residence, and came and went several times. Torres’ adult daughter, who rents the house from her mom, told police Delorme’s activity and presence frightened her.
Police reports obtained by the Tri-City Herald show Galbraith and his campaign aide, Benson Behen, allegedly organized the surveillance of Torres’ home.
Galbraith paid Delorme $80 for gas money and phone records allege he “coordinated and directed operations” and “requested photos” of his opponent’s family vehicles. Behen allegedly discussed raiding the trash and considered what police called “multiple deceptive pretexts” to gain access to the home.
Neither Galbraith nor Benson have been charged with crimes, though the two were criminally investigated. Galbraith in public statements denies any wrongdoing and has called the release of information a “political hit.”
Yakima County has taken over the prosecution of Delorme due to the political nature of the case. Franklin County’s prosecutor, Shawn Sant, has personally endorsed Torres in the race.
Matthew Mills, a Yakima County deputy prosecutor, said he is reviewing the police reports and will be making a decision on whether to charge Galbraith or Behen.
A pretrial hearing for Delorme’s case is scheduled for Sept. 30, and it’s set to go to trial Oct. 12.
© 2026 Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.). Visit www.tri-cityherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
