A Multi-County grand jury has recommended that District Attorney Allan Grubb be removed from office and has requested the District Court order his immediate suspension.
The accusation for removal against Grubb accuses him of habitual or willful neglect of duty, oppression in office and corruption.
The nine-page report issued by the Multi-County grand jury was filed in Pottawatomie County District Court last Friday afternoon, July 22.
An initial hearing on the accusation for removal and the grand jury’s request for immediate suspension has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 8 in the courtroom of District Judge John Canavan.
Judge Canavan has said he will recuse himself from any of the proceedings regarding the embattled district attorney.
On Monday, Associate District Judge Tracy L. McDaniel and Special Judges Emily J. Mueller and J. David Cawthon filed orders of recusal in the matter as well.
Attorneys David T. McKenzie and Robert D. Gifford filed entries of appearance on behalf of Grubb as his attorneys.
State Attorney General John O’Connor and his designees have been appointed as the prosecutors to conduct any future proceedings in the matter.
On Monday of this week, Grubb responded, calling the investigation “a witch hunt,” further saying , “it was all tied to the elections and everything else.”
He would not confirm whether or not he appeared before the Multi-County Grand Jury on Thursday, July 21, but did confirm he had been subpoenaed to do so.
Grubb said the allegations “are so far-fetched, they’re ridiculous,” claiming the sexual allegations “are hogwash.”
The district attorney stated, “I don’t meet individually with employees, witnesses or with other people. It’s always been my policy to have someone else in the room when I am meeting with a person.”
“The State Attorney General’s Office seems to be making up the law as it goes along. I believe the AG’s office is not following the law.
“I’m disappointed they are misapplying the law and it would be nice if they would follow the law,” Grubb said.
“They claim they’ve been investigating this for nine months and now there’s some kind of emergency.”
Grubb said there is a hearing on Aug. 16 before the State Supreme Court on the matter in addition to the Aug. 8 hearing in District Court.
The habitual or willful neglect of duty accusation cites several times where Grubb allegedly violated the constitutional rights of victims in criminal cases.
In one case, he allegedly failed to treat a woman with fair and respect for her safety, dignity and privacy by telling others in his office, including Tonya Roland and Mike Vaught that he was considering charging the woman, with a criminal prostitution offense for her actions as the victim of sexual battery that allegedly had been committed on her by Hao Pham without legal cause and in violation of her constitutional rights.
Hao Pham was charged in Pottawatomie County District Court with a felony.
Grubb allegedly denied the woman’s right to be heard in a proceeding concerning the disposition of a case in which she was the victim by ordering the execution of a deferred prosecution agreement with Hao to resolve the case without consulting the woman and without having reviewed the reports or information concerning the incident which, the allegation states, was a violation of her rights.
Other instances are cited by the grand jury to reportedly support the habitual or neglect of duty allegation.
He is accused of corruption in office by between Jan. 7, 2019 and July 10, 2019, of using his public office to procure a benefit for Hao Pham and/or Phillip Nguyen contrary to the duties imposed by the statutes and the rights of the woman identified as L.F.G. which constitutes corruption in office and he should be removed from office, it states.
The oppression in office allegation accuses Grubb of between Nov. 1, 2019 and Sep. 30, 2021, of allowing Preston Cox, an employee in Grubb’s office to make repeated threats of violence and other statements designed to cause fear to La-Trenda Sanders, who was employed as director of the Unzner Child Advocacy Center, to retaliate against her for statements made or actions taken by Sanders.
It further alleges that during the same time frame, Grubb verbally demeaned, harassed and insulted Sanders on a regular basis in his capacity as a public official.
Also, during that time, the report states Grubb told Sanders and Chelsie Ticknor that Ticknor needed to have sex with him and give him a baby when Sanders informed Grubb that Ticknor had been sexually harassed by Preston Cox.
The report states Ticknor was an employee of Grubb’s.
Grubb is accused of between Feb, 1, 2019 and May 31, 2021 of making inappropriate sexual comments about Ticknor in her presence on multiple occasions. Ticknor claimed Grubb told her if she were to work domestic violence cases as a police officer that she would be a “whore.”
Ticknor further stated Grubb falsely claimed or insinuated that Ticknor had performed oral sex on him and that he inappropriately commented about the possibility of a potential sexual relationship between Ticknor and Cox.
The report states that between Nov. 1, 2019 and Sep. 30, 2021 Grubb obtained a Cellebrite machine for the District Attorney’s office for personal gain to search cellphones of employees who were acting unfavorably toward him.
According to the report, Sanders, Roland, Vaught, and Nguyen were among some of the witnesses who appeared before the grand jury.