$5,000 bench warrant issued for Gavin Seim

EPHRATA — After missing a court date last week, a $5,000 warrant has been issued for Gavin Seim, who has left the country for Mexico.

Per the request of Deputy Prosecutor Marc Fedorak, Judge Pro-Tem Mark A. Chmelewski issued a $5,000 bench warrant for Seim’s arrest after he failed to appear at a Dec. 8 court date. Seim is currently charged in Grant County District Court with obstruction of a law enforcement officer and harassment in connection with an August arrest at the Ephrata Walmart.

Fedorak has advised the court the state intends to amend the charges against Seim and dismiss the harassment charge, but the state prefers Seim to be present when the charge is actually dismissed. The problem is that Seim left the country for Mexico and hasn’t stated when, or if, he intends to return to the United States.

Because of Seim’s failure to show up at two previous court dates, Fedorak said the state also intends to file at least one, possibly two, bail jumping charges against Seim. The defendant has stated on numerous occasions that the charges are without base and Ephrata Police Department officer Patrick Canady arrested him in an act of vengeance and to fulfill a vendetta Seim says the officer has against him.

“I remove myself from the unconstitutional threats of the officers, prosecutors and judges in Grant County's criminal cartel. I refuse their persecution of my family and my community,” Seim stated. “As our forefathers rejected the false authority of officers who made secret deals and presided over kangaroo courts, I too walk away and I offer the dust of my feet to those whose silence is consent.”

Seim is alleging a county-wide conspiracy against himself that started with Canady and the EPD and has grown to include prosecutors and judges. When Seim was arrested his phone was seized as evidence by Canady, as Seim recorded his encounter with the officer. Prosecutors have been attempting to crack the phone’s code and view the video in question, but the device is password protected and attempts to open the device have been unsuccessful.

In a recent Facebook post Seim says he has heard from a “source” that Judge David Estudillo, who is the judge that signed a search warrant for Seim’s phone, made a “deal with local authorities” that he will find probable cause for any person police take into custody “regardless of the facts.”

“Backroom deals are hard to prove on paper but this makes sense with the illegal acts I have personally witnessed this man commit in court,” Seim alleged. “This is a theme in U.S. courts. Legally judges are required to throw out charges that lack evidence. In reality they back their crony buddies. I refuse to bow to these fake judges and I’m calling for a full investigation into the actions of each judge and prosecutor in Grant County.”

Seim also previously lodged complaints against Prosecutor Garth Dano, accusing him of “manipulating” testimonies given by witnesses to “create his own narrative.”

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.