On Friday, a Pierce County judge granted a motion to revoke Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer’s release on personal recognizance and ruled that Troyer will have to pay $100,000 bail.
State attorney general Bob Ferguson originally requested bail to be set at $10,000.
The ruling stems from an ongoing case following a January 2021 confrontation between Troyer and newspaper carrier Sedrick Altheimer. Troyer was subsequently charged with two misdemeanors — false reporting and making a false statement to a civil servant — with a trial date set for July 11.
“The state has proven that it’s highly probable that Mr. Troyer has on multiple occasions willfully violated this court’s thrice-ordered conditions to protect Mr. Altheimer,” the judge said. “The court finds that by committing these violations of court conditions of release, Mr. Troyer intentionally sought to intimidate Mr. Altheimer, a key material state witness, from cooperating and/or testifying in this case.”
Last month, a judge ordered Troyer to stay 1,000 feet away from Altheimer.
That order came after Altheimer filed an anti-harassment protection order against Troyer in May, asserting that Troyer had followed him in a vehicle while he was out delivering newspapers, in an attempt to intimidate him. That order was granted in early June.
The judge said that Troyer’s violation of court orders intended to protect Altheimer represents “an egregious and potentially dangerous violation.”
“The court has determined that a showing has been made that Mr. Troyer is a substantial danger to the community, especially to Mr. Altheimer,” the judge added.
The state attorney general’s office had initially requested that Troyer post $10,000 bail, with the judge ultimately determining that amount was not sufficient.
In a statement released Friday, Troyer’s lawyer argued that the bail amount was “clearly excessive.”
“Yesterday in Pierce County Superior Court a man was charged with rape in the second degree and the court set bail at $50,000,” said John Sheeran, counsel for Troyer. “Another man was charged with assault in the first degree and drive-by shooting and bail was set at $50,000. A man charged with possessing child pornography was charged and bail set at $15,000 ... Despite the fact that the Attorney General’s Office asked the court to impose $10,000 bail, which itself was unwarranted, the court unreasonably imposed $100,000.”
Sheeran said the only interaction Troyer has had with Altheimer since the original January 2021 incident was on one morning in April 2022.
According to Sheeran, Troyer was parked outside of his father’s home when Altheimer pulled up to deliver a newspaper.
“Sheriff Troyer did not know who was approaching his father’s house and explained that it was his childhood home and his father’s house,” Sheeran said. “As Mr. Altheimer was walking back to his car he identified himself to the sheriff. The interaction was brief and non-confrontational.”
Sheeran said that the court’s decision to make Troyer post $100,000 bail is “gratuituous in light of Mr. Althiemer’s obvious bias as he seeks $5,000,000 in his lawsuit against Sheriff Troyer and Pierce County.”