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POSTED: Friday, Jun. 19, 2009

Two men found guilty of assaulting sheriff's deputy at Baker Lake campsite

BELLINGHAM - A Whatcom County Superior Court jury convicted two men Thursday, June 18, of assaulting and obstructing a Whatcom County Sheriff's deputy and a U.S. Forest Service officer at Baker Lake last year.

The jury found a third man innocent of assaulting the deputy but guilty of obstructing attempts to arrest the other men.

James Lockrem Sr., 50, was found guilty of obstructing and assaulting Deputy Jeremy Freeman near his family's campsite at Baker Lake on May 25, 2008. Freeman was providing backup to U.S. Forest Service Officer Jeremy Smith, who was arresting Lockrem Sr.'s son Joshua on an outstanding warrant.

Joshua Lockrem called for his family to help as he resisted arrest, which set off the ensuing fight between Lockrem Sr. and Freeman.

The jury found Lockrem Sr. innocent of trying to remove Freeman's gun from its holster during the struggle.

The jury found Jarred Zeigler, 29, guilty of assaulting Freeman and Smith, and of obstructing Smith. Zeigler's attorney, Robert Jones, said he's talking with his client about appealing the verdict.

James Lockrem Jr., 29, was found guilty of obstructing Smith and Freeman, but was found innocent of assault.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for July 7. None of the men have prior felony convictions.

Throughout the three-week trial, jurors heard testimony from both officers and the three defendants, and watched a video that recorded a portion of the incident. The video records Lockrem Sr. grappling and struggling with Freeman, but does not capture how the fight began.

Both men offered differing versions. Freeman testified that Lockrem Sr. knocked his arms down as he was trying to go to his son Joshua, who was handcuffed and being put in the back of Smith's SUV.

Freeman testified that he tried to arrest Lockrem Sr., but he responded by punching the deputy in the face, which started the fight.

Lockrem Sr. testified that Freeman attacked him without provocation as he was trying to find out what was happening to his son.

The video shows Zeigler and Smith jostling as Freeman and Lockrem Sr. were struggling. Jones said Zeigler didn't strike either officer, but the jury found that his touching and actions were offensive enough to be considered an assault.

Jurors also considered Zeigler an accomplice to Lockrem Sr.'s assault on Freeman, Jones said.

"I'm extremely disappointed this turned out the way it did," Jones said. "This is a fine young man and the jury didn't say that he wasn't."

Freeman radioed for help from other law enforcement officers but lost radio connection for 41 minutes after that, which prompted the Sheriff's Office to pursue a multimillion-dollar overhaul for the radio communication system used by emergency responders in Whatcom County, said Undersheriff Carey James.

James said the Sheriff's Office has contracted with Seattle-based Hatfield Dawson Consulting to look at the best and most cost-effective way to upgrade the system. The initial estimate was about $12 million, but James said that figure could drop if new technology that uses Internet service to connect radio towers with dispatching centers is included in the overhaul.

James said the cost of the upgrade will be spread among agencies that use the system, and they will be applying for federal money, as well.

James said the incident at Baker Lake casts light on the need for strong radio signals in remote areas in the eastern part of the county.

"The results could have been much worse than they were," James said. "We need this communication out there for our officers."