My Name is Cynthia and I am asking for donations needed for an Appeal and for possible medical expenses for my son, Daniel (Dan) Teare. He was accused and charged for a cyber crime. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time, visiting a relative, and was caught in the web of an investigation that pushed him at the forefront as the guilty party. After a search warrant was presented to search the apartment of the owner of the IP address they were investigating, the lead investigator realized that the search warrant was invalid, she told her investigators to stop what they were doing and she left to obtain a valid search warrant in order to search Daniel's property, He has been convicted and will be sentenced on 31 July 2017. This is disheartening and embarrassing, the following is an explanation of my son's situation. Everything I state in this plea for my son is from the investigative material concerning his case, my witness account from the several pre-trials, the trial proceedings and public record.
According to the results from the Defense Computer Forensic Investigator and the testimonies in the Depositions of the Cyber Crimes Task Force Investigators, Daniel had a strong defense against these charges. There were glaring holes in the state's case" ; " An intensive analysis of Daniel's devices, including " unallocated" space (where deleted files reside), did not locate any files,,,"none of the video files in question were found anywhere on Dan's laptop. Per the probable cause statement by the lead investigator, no videos were mentioned. The Cyber Crimes investigator agreed that if certain files were never opened, it is possible that a user could not have known they even existed on a computer. Also, there was no determination of who a user was of the IP address, and there was no determination as to which computer was used under the IP address the authorities were investigating. The lead Cyber Crimes investigator and the Cyber Crimes forensic investigator had differences in the terms such as matched opposed to likely, and the Probable Cause Statement by the lead investigator was not in agreement with statements made by the cyber crimes forensic investigator, meaning they were not always on the same page. At the time of this investigation, the cyber crimes forensic investigator was an intern in training (inexperienced) with only basic training in cyber crime investigative techniques and procedure. I was in shock that my son was found guilty, although, sitting through and watching the interaction between the prosecutor of my son's case and the presiding judge, I was not completely surprised. As I witnessed the entire showboating of Prosecutorial overreach, misconduct, malicious defamation and possible Brady Violation, by the Prosecutor, the continued overrule of Defendant Attorney's objections by the judge (99%), and the jury selection, my respect and trust for the law of Boone County, Missouri, justice system has been lowered, tainted. On the other hand, I have respect for the law and those who represent the rule of law with integrity and honor.
I had hoped that the truth, facts, and a fair and impartial judge would deem my son innocent of the charges, Well, far from it, as exhibited during the past 2-plus years. I had so many questions as to why a judge would be so impartial to ignore Facts, including legal statutes presented by the defense attorney, and prevent defense evidence.
PRIOR TO DAN'S TRIAL: Dan was offered his first plea without knowledge of actual charges and discovery material presented against him. (Finally, 18 months after his arrest, Dan received a copy of the Discovery material). After the initial depositions (March 2016) Dan was offered another plea, after several plea offers he had refused, because he is not guilty, and Knowing he had a good defense case, we were anxious to finally have this case resolved. He had been initially charged with 3 counts, then in Fall of 2016, the Prosecutor "Amended" the 3 charges to "12". What a total turnaround, very interesting. (the 12 counts , (as we learned at trial)*** were the result of "evidence" compiled from bits and pieces of evidence the authorities had found on the IP address which was the subject of the initial investigation) Not from Dan's laptop, very interesting. On December 4, 2016, while I was discussing Dan's case with the defense attorney at his office, the Prosecuting Attorney, called and said that if Dan decides to go to trial, then she is going to ask for a 10 year sentence. (of course, upon hearing this, he still decided to go to trial, knowing there was good evidence in his favor). I had attended 4 court appearances, during the past 2-plus years, in hopes of this case being settled, although continued motions, objections and unforeseen circumstances caused delays from February 2015 until June 2017.
DURING DAN'S TRIAL: Dan was, as was I, blindsided with "evidence"*** he had never seen, was not aware of and testified in his defense. He was restricted by the Prosecutor and Judge as to what he could testify to, and was not allowed to challenge any evidence against him. Every objection by the defense attorney was overruled by the Judge. Defense testimony and evidence beneficial for my son was hampered and prohibited by the Prosecution, (the judge overruled 99% of the Defense Attorney objections during the several pre-trials and the trial during the time period 2015-2017. FOR EXAMPLE: 1. Prosecution witness depositions were not allowed to be challenged; 2. The Defense Computer Forensic investigator was prevented from testifying his expertise on behalf of my son; 3. Prosecutor filed a Motion to Compel Disclosure, a request to the Defense Attorney to provide the questions I, as Daniel's mother, was to be asked at trial; 4. Prosecutor filed a Memorandum, STATES LEGAL MEMORANDUM ON CHARACTER EVIDENCE, an argument by the Prosecutor against the legality of my testimony of character reference in defense of my son;
It is quite uncomfortable that this Prosecutor was literally attacking my person as a witness and supporter of my son. It was as if the Prosecutor had placed tape over my mouth to control and/or prevent the jury from hearing beneficial evidence for my son. In Addition: On two separate occasions the Prosecutor had presented 10-30 hours of phone conversations between myself and my son. Since I live out of state and the only time I was able to see my son in person, was behind a glass partition when I visited him at the Boone County Jail, Columbia, Missouri, and from a distance while I was in attendance in the court proceedings. Besides letter writing, we, of course, spoke via phone conversations, as the only link to keeping his spirits up, while he was in detainee status. Think about it, it's bad enough being locked up away from family, even worse if there is no support. When I inquired as to why the prosecutor felt that our phone conversations were important enough to present as evidence against my son, I was informed that the Prosecutor wanted to show the Malicious Character of Dan. Well, if a mother and son cannot have conversations with our own thoughts and opinions while (my) son is in Detainee status, in uncomfortable, unhealthy and discriminating conditions are we being faulted for compassion, support, free speech, thought and opinion? MALICIOUS? This term is unfair, How is anyone supposed to feel when arrested and charged for a crime under unclear reasons and unbelievable circumstances, and thrown into jail under deplorable conditions. The correct terms are FRUSTRATED, EMBARRASSED, AND APPALLED (at the prosecution lies and presumptions) with the injustice and discriminating circumstances, injuries (fractured jaw, loss and of teeth) in addition to his entire life torn apart without being able to defend himself. Nobody should ever be subjected to inhumane treatment, discrimination and sparse medical care for infections and injuries caused by a jail system.
After researching to find some answers to this travesty of justice, I came across some interesting facts via internet and Investigative Discovery program- all public knowledge:
According to "Investigative Discovery" &" 48 Hours" programs which have been following a particular murder case for several years, Both the Boone County, Missouri, Prosecutor office and the Boone County Police Department were under investigation, (with the possibility of manipulation of evidence in order to convict the defendant.) This case involved a young man who was charged, convicted and sentenced to 40 years for murder. He continually claimed his innocence. While he was serving his sentence, he appeared before a judge to request a new trial, he presented his claims to justify his request. The judge ruled against him. Of course, the young man had a right to request a new trial, and he had to adhere to the judge's decision. Fortunately, after persistent support from his parents and a new legal team, he won an appeal and after serving 10 years of his 40-year sentence, he was awarded early release in 11/12/13. Accordingly: A "Damning appellate court decision " found the Prosecutor of the young man's original trial, "guilty of violating the so-called "Brady Rule" - a prosecutorial duty courts hold nearly sacred." The Appellate justices found that the prosecutor "withheld evidence that impugned (challenged) the testimony of a key witness", violation of due process under the U.S. Constitution, "the biggest taboo in criminal jurisprudence [law]." That particular prosecutor is now a Boone County, Missouri judge.
In reference to the Judge who ruled against the young man's request for a new trial, I found it interesting (public information) that It was determined that the judge 1: "merely adopted the judgment prepared by the prosecution, signing the same in the prosecution's favor, to deny each and every ground of appeal put forward by the defense in what can only be described as a heavily biased judgment." 2: Arguably, "the judge's 40-page decision was replete with factual errors and misinterpretations of the evidence presented . . . ." 3. After this young man's release from prison, he was scheduled to speak before a journalism class at a Columbia, Missouri high school. Well, upon arriving at the school for his scheduled speaking engagement, he was informed that he could not enter the premises of the school. It was unclear the reasoning, but upon further investigation, a reporter made an interesting observation. (public record), - The prosecutor in this young man's trial and conviction was engaged to the daughter of the boss of the Judge's husband. The judge I am referring to is the judge who turned down the young man's request for a new trial. This is interesting to me, because this particular judge is the judge who presided over my son's case. A judge who "merely adopted the judgment prepared by the prosecution, signing the same in the prosecution's favor, ......in what can only be described as a heavily biased judgment." If my son and I knew of the possibility of Bias in terms of the presiding judge of Dan's case, we would, of course, had objection to her assignment as presiding judge. At the very beginning of Dan's case, we had confidence that the judge would be a fair and impartial judge, Well, it seems that our confidence was misled.
Upon further research, (a matter of public record) I have come to understand that the number of Columbia, Missouri, Cyber Crimes Task Force convictions has a bearing on the amount of grant funding toward the staffing,training, salary, and update of equipment for the Cyber Crimes Task Force of Columbia, Missouri.
This is another example of a criminal case whereby anyone -in this case, my son- can be wrongly accused, not afforded due process and subjected to bias, sent to prison and have their life negatively impacted as a result.
Daniel is to be sentenced soon, 31 July, 2017. The only hope to save him is the Appeal process. He and I have maxed out funds for further defense. I have reached out to his father, in hopes he would help. Well, that was a failed attempt. This is his only son, a son who has tried for years to have a father and son relationship, to no avail. So, please, if you find it in your heart to contribute to this fundraising for his legal fees and needed medical attention, to correct the injustice and help him get his life back it will be GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU Note: If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Again, Thank you.
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