Pacific County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Deputy Patricia Rojas was charged with felonies on June 21 by the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office following an extensive investigation of Crystal R. Greenler's death in the Pacific County Jail in December 2022.
Rojas faces one count of false instrument for filing or record, and one count of forgery relating to jail records pertaining to the death. Both are Class C felonies with maximum sentences of five years in prison and $5,000 fines. She will be formally arraigned on July 7.
The alleged offenses occurred toward the end of former Sheriff Robin Souvenir's term in office, at a time when the jail was struggling with staffing levels.
The investigation report into Greenler’s death was obtained by the Chinook Observer on June 21. It contains troubling details of how the woman was left to die in her jail cell. Fellow inmates begged for help on her behalf and provided her with as much aid as they could as her condition quickly deteriorated.
Greenler was arrested on Dec. 10 by the Raymond Police Department on a charge of domestic violence fourth-degree assault. She was alleged to have assaulted her husband and a female in their home after being confronted about drugs that were located in a purse. However, results of Greenler's autopsy suggest she may not have deserved to be arrested in the first place.
The Chinook Observer has submitted multiple public records requests since Greenler's death, and they have all been denied under RCW 42.56.240, which exempt records pertaining to active investigations. Lewis County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) Detectives Matt Wallace and Mike Mohr were called in to conduct the investigation to avoid the conflict of interest that would arise from the Pacific County Sheriff's Office investigating itself.
Wallace and Mohr forwarded their completed investigation to the Pacific County Prosecutor's Office on Jan. 10 of this year.
The Pacific County Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to an inquiry about the contents of the investigation report or why it’s been in possession of the report for over five months and did not release any details.
Located Unresponsive
According to the investigation report, Greenler was found unresponsive inside her cell in Pod 7 of the Pacific County Jail on Dec. 13, 2022, at about 8:31 a.m. Fellow inmate Jamie Heslen discovered her after she did not answer a morning medication call.
Jail policy regarding inmate safety checks states:
• "Safety checks shall be conducted at least every 60 minutes and more frequently if necessary.”
• “Safety checks shall be done by personal observation of the corrections officer and shall be sufficient to determine whether the inmate is experiencing any stress or trauma.”
• “Cameras and monitors may supplement the required visual observation safety checks but they shall not replace the need for direct visual observation.”
• “Safety checks will be clearly documented on permanent logs in accordance with the officer Daily Activity Logs and Shift Reports Policy.”
• “Actual times of the checks and notations should be recorded a in the daily activity logs.”
• “Log entries shall never be made in advance of the actual check. Log entries made in this manner do not represent factual information and are prohibited.”
• “Special Management Inmates shall be checked on more frequently as detailed in the Special Management Inmates Policy.”
Pacific County Sheriff's Office Corrections Deputy Patricia Rojas was the lone corrections deputy on shift at the time and entered Greenler's cell with Nurse Sherri Franks. Greenler was dragged out of the cell, and Rojas and Franks attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation and attached her to an automated external defibrillator.
Paramedics from the Raymond Fire Department responded to the scene and declared Greenler deceased at approximately 8:58 a.m. The investigation into the incident was then handed over to Wallace and Mohr.
Wallace and Mohr began their investigation at about 11:30 a.m. that day by looking over and documenting where Greenler was located and the contents of her cell. The key takeaways for the detectives were bloodied and soiled feminine pads located inside a trash can and body fluid on and around a toilet.
Interviews
Heslen and three other inmates of Pod 7, identified as Nicole L. Lombardo, Kim O'Connor and Laurel Webber, were interviewed by the detectives. Heslen, O'Connor and Webber recounted how Greenler was showing severe signs of trauma and having difficulty walking, breathing, and was even soiling herself.
"Heslen explained that on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022, Greenler complained of difficulty breathing, difficult coughing, and complained of pain from being beaten up," Wallace stated in his report.
Heslen and O'Connor, a licensed practical nurse, told investigators that Greenler told them she had been beaten up by her husband and another woman inside her home, contrary to the allegations that she beat them up.
"O'Connor explained she met Greenler on Saturday morning, and her general impression of her was that Greenler needed medical help and medical attention," Wallace stated in the investigation report.
"O'Connor described hearing Greenler's lungs as gurgling. She explained the more she helped Greenler, the more the injuries became visible, as were the complaints of pain and shortness of breath," Wallace added.
Heslen and O'Connor told the detectives that they raised concerns about Greenler's condition to jail staff multiple times. However, Heslen added that she didn't blame the jail staff for Greenler’s lack of care because they were following the advice of Franks, the jail's hired nurse.
"Sherri (the nurse) had been called multiple times, multiple times … when she couldn't breath … it was insane to me," Heslen told the detectives during her interview. Jail staff directly texts the nurse, in this case Franks, when there is a medical question or inquiry.
The detectives reviewed text messages between jail staff and Franks that noted several health concerns about Greenler.
"In the text string, there are multiple mentions of inmate Crystal Greenler having several complaints including body aches, trouble breathing, migraines, swelling, and detoxing from methamphetamine," Mohr stated in the investigation report.
"Nurse Franks was provided blood pressure and pulse readings and replied (by) granting the dosages of Tylenol," Mohr added.
Two other inmates, Webber and Lombardo, told investigators similar observations that Greenler showed visible signs of trauma. The two detectives and Pacific County Deputy Coroner Kailee Lucerso located bruising all over Greenler's body.
According to the investigation report, Franks did not speak directly to the detectives and instead wrote out a statement.
Autopsy Findings
An autopsy was completed on Greenler on Dec. 19, 2022, at about 9:45 a.m. by Dr. Cliff Nelson of the Cowlitz County Coroner's Office. Detective Mohr was present for the autopsy and documented his observations, including details suggesting a severe infection, the severity of which Mohr had never before witnessed.
Fluid in the right lung cavity was consistent with body fluid he and Wallace discovered in Greenler's cell.
Greenler's cause of death was determined during the autopsy to be "extreme right side pneumonia." In the preliminary report submitted on Jan. 4, the cause was stated as pneumonia in the right lung.
But How?
The detective's report hones in on critical aspects of the timeline between when Greenler was last seen alive and when she was discovered unresponsive by fellow inmate Heslen.
Rojas went on shift at about midnight, and her shift was scheduled to end at 10 a.m. Part of her responsibilities were hourly checks of the cells.
According to her statements, the duty is generally dispersed over two on-duty corrections officers.
According to the investigation report — which included a surveillance camera transcript — Rojas checked on all the cells at 12:35 a.m., and at 1:51 a.m. checked on all the cells except for Greenler's at 2:53 a.m. and 4:17 a.m. Inmates were called to the window for medications at 6:03 a.m., and Greenler did not respond to the prompt. Greenler was eventually found unresponsive 2 hours and 28 minutes later.
"Corrections Deputy Rojas explained the cell-check process, that they are performed hourly at random times and that she logged a cell check, but ended up falling asleep and waking up to the alarms, and did not actually perform that one check," Mohr stated in the investigation report.
"Corrections Deputy Rojas believed this was the check before the medication pass she conducted at 5:40 a.m., (or) possibly the 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. check," he added.
According to Rojas's interview, she may have mistaken bunched-up blankets on Greenler's bed for her being in bed.
Mohr reviewed video footage provided by the jail and went over it with Pacific County Corrections Chief Corey Flynn. They did not see any physical altercations between Greenler and her fellow inmates.
In their interviews, Helsen and O'Connor were adamant that they were taking care of Greenler and assisting her, not harming her.
Tylenol Care
According to Heslen, O'Connor and Webber, Greenler had bruising all over her body, consistent with being beaten up. Helsen told investigators that the longer Greenler was incarcerated, the more apparent all the bruising became.
"Corrections Deputy (Leanne) Strozyk said, from just looking at Ms. Greenler, she was 'beat up pretty good.' Corrections Deputy Strozyk stated she did have Ms. Greenler out a couple of times to check her blood pressure," Mohr stated in the investigation report.
"She asked the nurse if any withdrawal medications were needed and if it was okay to give Ms. Greenler Tylenol, and that Ms. Greenler came out to get food and went to lay back down," he added.
Stroyzk also told Wallace and Mohr that, at one point, Greenler had soiled herself and needed help to take a shower. She last saw Greenler alive between about 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Her shift was from 2 p.m. to midnight.
"I then asked if she observed anything with Ms. Greenler that was alarming or she felt like needed medical attention right away, and Corrections Deputy Strozyk stated Mr. Greenler hadn't changed since she had seen her," Mohr stated in the investigation.
"Her breathing was the same, and her blood pressure had not risen, so she had pretty much stayed the same the whole time she was there," Mohr added that Strozyk stated to him.
Following the Investigation
Following the incident, Rojas was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a formal investigation. Her sheriff's office superiors authorized her return to work on Monday, June 19. Franks is still contracted to provide nurse services to the jail through Willapa Harbor Hospital.
Greenler's family has remained adamant that they raised concerns during her initial arrest that she was suffering from some sort of medical issue. A public records request submitted to the Raymond Police Department did not provide any additional insight.
The bodycam of the arresting officer, Micah Ristow, was not functional during the arrest. The battery is said to have died.
Sheriff's office Commander Michael Parker provided this comment Thursday afternoon, June 22, regarding the latest developments in this case.
“Since a significant amount of time had elapsed since the incident, there was growing concern for all individuals involved,” Parker stated in an email on June 22. “We were advised by an outside investigator that the welfare of our employee could be significantly improved if we were to find administrative duties that they could perform as opposed to sitting at home and waiting for a phone call from us.
“We consulted the prosecutor’s office and the union representing our corrections deputies. It was agreed that we would offer Deputy Rojas the opportunity to return to work in a limited capacity. Her job responsibilities were limited to answering phones, entering information into our computer system and operating the facility doors from the control room of the jail,” he added.
According to Parker, Pacific County Prosecutor Michael Rothman recently spoke with the Lewis County Prosecutor's Office and learned that charges were “possibly going to be filed within the next few days.”
“Once we received official word of the charges, she was asked to leave the office and to turn in any work related material,” Parker stated. “The entire investigation is still considered active until the review panel has rendered their finding. Only after this is complete will we be in a better position to determine what action will be taken.”
Rojas is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.
