GUILTY SD - Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, involved in fatal car hit and run, Sioux Falls, Sept 2020 *plea *Impeached*

[nells]

[Continued, Interview 1 Recap:]

Somehow, I skipped over the most significant part of Interview 1 -- the moment when the investigator shows JR the picture of Boever's glasses:

52:30 - 52:47 - Silence

Then - JR: "Hm. Those are not what I think, what I thought were the military... they're thicker... No, I don't recognize them."​

(Here, at this moment, JR has to realize just whose glasses those are...)​

 

[mickey2942]

This entire situation is a giant circus tent, with Ravnsborg as the "Ringmaster". LEO are all clowns. The whole situation is rife with fraud, dual relationships, cronyism, and flat out lies.

I am waiting for Ravnsborg to have a bench trial with his judge buddy, so he can show up to court, get a $20 fine and then go out to lunch with all of his buddies at the courthouse. The entire situation is appalling and disgusting.

 

[Betty P]

Here is a link to a video showing the accident scene and markings along the shoulder of the highway and in the grass slope beyond.

Can someone show me at what point the victim jumped in front of Ravnsborg's car as he was driving down the highway, in his proper lane?

The evidence doesn't show that the victim committed suicide by jumping in front of anyone's car.

Video: See where a fatal crash involving AG Ravnsborg occurred

Why did Ravnsborg's car leave the shoulder and travel down the grass embankment?

How does a victim initiate a collision when he's not on the highway, but on the shoulder? Was he using ESP or some kind of mind control to force Ravnsborg to drive off the highway and onto the shoulder?

Here's a page from the accident reconstruction expert's report. It shows Mr. Nemec being struck when he is off on the far edge of the shoulder, almost in the grass.

Ravnsborg crash: What we know about how it happened | KELOLAND.com

 

[nells]

[Interview 2 Recap]

Interview 2

Beginning: small talk about Covid, interview is voluntary, stop us when you want, etc.

5:30 - Questions about JR’s sleeping habits, what JR had at the political dinner (“I had a coca-cola, a steak, and I had a baked potato…”)

10:00 – JR describes his route from the dinner to his home.

Jumping forward --

17:25 Investigator 1: "What do you remember happening next?”

JR: “Well, when you say next… there was a hit!”

- Distancing, passive language again.​

35:10 – JR, after finding the body: “Now’s it’s daylight. I can see the sheriff’s house. And I said, we gotta go get the sheriff, immediately… So we did leave the site without calling 911, but my thought process was this was the quickest way I can get the sheriff, was to go to his house. He’s right there.”

- This is odd to me because one would expect JR to say: “Now it’s daylight, I can see the body.” But he doesn’t; he says he can see the sheriff’s house. Why would we care if he can see the sheriff’s house or not?​

- Also, JR is quick to explain why he didn’t call 911 at this moment.

 

[nells]

[Interview 2 recap:]

37:35 – Investigator 1: So when you spoke to the sheriff at his house, do you remember what he was wearing? Was he dressed like he was about to go on duty or something?

- That’s interesting. Why do they want to know what the sheriff was wearing?​

 

[Countem]

[Interview 2 recap:]

37:35 – Investigator 1: So when you spoke to the sheriff at his house, do you remember what he was wearing? Was he dressed like he was about to go on duty or something?

- That’s interesting. Why do they want to know what the sheriff was wearing?​

Maybe they want to see if his details match up with the sheriff’s details to see if they line up? MOO.

 

[mickey2942]

[Interview 2 Recap]

Interview 2

Beginning: small talk about Covid, interview is voluntary, stop us when you want, etc.

5:30 - Questions about JR’s sleeping habits, what JR had at the political dinner (“I had a coca-cola, a steak, and I had a baked potato…”)

10:00 – JR describes his route from the dinner to his home.

Jumping forward --

17:25 Investigator 1: "What do you remember happening next?”

JR: “Well, when you say next… there was a hit!”

- Distancing, passive language again.​

35:10 – JR, after finding the body: “Now’s it’s daylight. I can see the sheriff’s house. And I said, we gotta go get the sheriff, immediately… So we did leave the site without calling 911, but my thought process was this was the quickest way I can get the sheriff, was to go to his house. He’s right there.”

- This is odd to me because one would expect JR to say: “Now it’s daylight, I can see the body.” But he doesn’t; he says he can see the sheriff’s house. Why would we care if he can see the sheriff’s house or not?​

- Also, JR is quick to explain why he didn’t call 911 at this moment.

I would have liked to ask the Sheriff why Ravnsborg was not given a sobriety test. To measure his blood alcohol level with a breathalyzer.

My other followup question, is why was it so important to go to the Sheriff's house, immediately, after hitting a deer?

That happens routinely around here, no need to get the Sheriff involved. The officer gets the carcass off the road, if an officer is even called. Go home, call your car insurance.

When did Ravnsborg report this accident to his car insurance?

 

[nells]

My other followup question, is why was it so important to go to the Sheriff's house, immediately, after hitting a deer?

From my understanding, on the night of the accident, the 911 operator sent the sheriff to the accident site. Believing JR's car was inoperable, the sheriff called a tow truck and then drove JR to his (the sheriff's) house and let JR take his (the sheriff's) car home to Pierre that night.

The next morning, JR drove the sheriff's car back to Highmore w/ his assistant and filled up the gas tank. When they stopped at the accident site, JR and his assistant "found" the body and drove to the sheriff's house to inform him of the body.

 

[Finlay]

Maybe they want to see if his details match up with the sheriff’s details to see if they line up? MOO.

Yep. The best planned/rehearsed lies can come unraveled when someone asks a very simple yet unexpected question. Reminds me a little of the movie The Devil's Advocate where the victim is on the stand and the attorney suddenly asks her if the defendant was circumcised. (At least I *think* that's the right movie.)

 

[nells]

Interview 2 – re-cap

This portion of the interview deals with JR’s phone and activity on the phone right before the crash. JR is noticeably nervous around discussions of his two phones, internet activity and where his phones were in the car.

Keep in mind, as Finlay suggests above, the investigators already know the answers to these questions at this point. They just want to see what JR will say.

49:25 – Investigator 1: How do you access your email on your phone?... Which websites do you frequently use, that you frequent on your phone?

(JR deflects, stating): “Well, when I’m around my house or around the building, maybe, you check out the news and such, you know…”​

- Investig. 1 : Any websites you check the news on?

JR: “I was not a normal 10 o clock news, or watcher of the frequent news…​

(Huh? The bad grammar may be a reflection of JR’s nervousness, because he knows that he was on these sites before the crash)

 

[nells]

Investigator 1:
“What would you think, though, if I told you that when they did the phone extraction, they found some internet activity on your phone around that time?”

JR (again, very nervously):
“I don’t not use my phone. But I didn’t use it at the time of the crash, no.”

As an English teacher would tell you, this double negative translates to: “I use my phone.”​

I.1: "But were you using it up to the time of the crash?"

JR: (long, long pause): "Not that I recall."

51: 17 – Investigator 2, in what seems like a warning to JR to not lie:
“Are you aware that the phone will actually tell us, Jason?"

 

[nells]

This tweet from a local reporter was posted earlier in the thread and I just wanted to bump it up:

https://twitter.com/AustinGossSD/status/1305310421394558981?s=20

It shows the accident site, some of the investigators, and (I think) part of the car/ debris that fell off?

Maybe around 1) 18 seconds, or 2) around 21 seconds, near the blue blankets?

 

[nells]

Interview 2 – continued (location of phones in car)

51:40 – JR: "The best I can recall, the one phone .. was on the seat and I never touched that one… it slammed into the wheel-well is what I remembered. ..The other one, prior to or right at Highmore I set it down. Through the journey it fell down a few times, onto the gear shift…"

(Personally, I think the crash happened when one of his phones slipped down by his feet or on the passenger’s side. JR reached down and accidentally turned his wheel towards the right, moving the car into the right shoulder, where Boever was walking. JR may not have “seen” Boever if JR was leaning down past the dashboard.)​

 

[nells]

Investigator lists blogs that JR was on – and the time -- right before the crash.

1:00:00 - Investigator 2: “We have a job to do…”

(This seems to be the investigators’ attempt to get JR to confess… but that doesn’t happen)​

Jumping forward…

1:52:09 – 73 Seconds Redacted

????
​

(I think I'll have to stop here.)

 

[nells]

NEW: Widow of Ravnsborg’s victim wants his mental-health records kept out of AG’s criminal trial | KELOLAND.com

“As the special administrator of Joe’s estate, Jenny has the right to claim the psychotherapist-patient privilege over Joe’s records..."

JR's lawyer: "Rensch disputes that Ravnsborg’s car struck Boever on the shoulder as North Dakota investigators determined. Rensch said a bolt in the road and paint chips that were blown to the side of the road were consistent with impact in the roadway."

 

[Snoopster]

I have not kept up with this case. I saw the original headlines back at the time, but didn't follow it after. I'm now only on page 13 and am still working my way through "Interview #2".

Here are my comments so far (apologize if they've been addressed/dimissed already!):

• the context: Highmore has a grand population of <800 people. The entire county has a population of <1500. Could the Sheriff have been influenced by a state official? The Sheriff loaned JR his own personal vehicle, while supposedly waiting behind to deal with the tow service. I'm pretty sure that LE wouldn't be the ones to deal with tow service if I 'hit a deer'.
• Interview # 1 when describing the impact: "I hit....the...I mean until the incident happened..." He couldn't eve bring himself to say that he hit someone.
• upon leaving the scene, JR called not only his chief of staff (maybe to arrange transportation??), but also Director of DCI. I presume that means Director of Criminal Investigation? Why? JR was immediately told to return the Sheriff's vehicle in the morning. What else did they talk about? (see next point)
• JR and Chief of Staff go to scene, because they were passing by as JR 'wanted to be respectful and fill the Sheriff's car up with gas'. Why didn't they simply fill up in Blunt, which was on the way, but not past the Sheriff's house? Wasn't it convenient that JR had someone with his when he "discovered" the body?
• 911 call: "It sure HIT ME." "It was in the middle of the road." JR never suggested that he hit a deer. The dispatcher did...and then he ran with it.
• photos of JR's damaged vehicle: one key photo shows the vehicle sitting in the lane (as opposed to the shoulder) with the police car in the background, give the 'impression' that that is where JR's vehicle was at the time of impact or stoppage. Was this a PR move? I suspect so.
• Interview #1 @ 51:40: JR wants some things from his impounded car. "What do you want? What's in your car?) Response: well, an emergency kit. And some CDs. Comeback: Were you listening to CDs on that drive? Response: 'Yes I was, but I found them boring so I turned them off. ' Why would he want them if he found them boring??
• Interview #1 @ 55:00: "I didn't see anything. I've hit a couple different deer over the past year or two." Seems like he is trying to push forward the idea that hitting deer is so common that he shouldn't be blamed for not thinking a person hitting his windshield was a deer.
• Interview #2 @12:00 - 13:34: JR talked about turning the radio off before Highmore. Then later implied it might have been at or around Highmore. What are the chances he turned off his radio 30 seconds before hitting Boever? Seems he was downplaying whatever his distraction might have been.
• Interview #2 @25:50: JR finds an opportunity to say that Highmore Sheriff said he didn't like politics. Seems like he is trying to indicate that there were no favors by the Sheriff.
• Interview #2 @ 28:25: Q: Did Sheriff look in ditch? A: Not sure, but I looked in ditch when walking to Sheriff's car [which was parked right behind him!] ...but didn't use my cell phone flashlight. [What happened to the dark, dark night??]

And not once in all of this time has JR expressed sadness for hitting/killing Joseph or condolences for Joseph's family. That tells us a lot.

More to come when/if I get a chance. (Which I might not.)

But one random irrelevant comment in the meantime...they pronounce the town named 'Pierre' as 'Peer'? I find this unacceptable as a Canadian!! We all know it should be 'Pee-ayr'!

 

[nells]

These are all excellent points.

Wasn't it convenient that JR had someone with his when he "discovered" the body?

Yes, and in interview 2 at 1:20:08 - "I did not know a man was there until the next day. And I guess the best witness to that is Tim (chief of staff), who saw my reaction." Very convenient.

Why didn't they simply fill up in Blunt, which was on the way, but not past the Sheriff's house?

Yes! These are the details that locals would know. This is why I hope a moderator can reach out to someone who is local who is willing to provide updates during the trial.

 

[Snoopster]

The Pennington, Minnehaha and Beadle county state’s attorneys will help a local prosecutor evaluate evidence and explore possible charges against Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg after he hit and killed a man with his car near Highmore.

Emily Sovell will ultimately decide whether or not to press charges. Sovell received her law degree and several honors from the University of South Dakota in 2001 before going on to clerk at the South Dakota Supreme Court. Ravnsborg also graduated from USD in 2011. Sovell is the deputy state’s attorney in Hyde County where Merlin Voorhees is the state’s attorney. Voorhees is Sovell's father.

She did not return messages asking if she has any friendships or working relations with Ravnsborg and the Hyde County Sheriff, and why she, rather than Vorhees, is handling the Ravnsborg case.

Ravnsborg said in a statement that he thought he hit a deer that night but realized he killed a man when he searched the site and found the man's body the next morning while on his way to return the car he borrowed from the local sheriff.

Pennington County State’s Attorney Vargo to help with Ravnsborg case
.

She graduated in 2001; he graduated in 2011.

She should answer the question about whether they have personal or professional relationships, or whether her father-in-law the state's attorney does. And in if she or he does, she should recuse herself for that.

I think that "2011" is a typo and that it should be 2001. As per Wikipedia Ravnsborg graduated in 2001. So he would have gone to law school at the same time as Sovell.

 

[Snoopster]

Good analysis. They certainly seem very pal-sy for what should have been a forensic interview with a possible suspect in a vehicular homicide or even involuntary manslaughter investigation.

I wonder how zealously AG JB may have investigated the case had it been a member of the public or a political rival in the frame. My guess is we'd have seen a few things done differently.

BBM.

I thought the interviewers did a good job. They held back information and came across as 'understanding' toward JR's 'plight' in order to see what he would say without scaring him off. He said enough to hang himself and prove that he was lying. They came so, so close to getting a confession from him. It's my understanding that this is considered good interview technique.

(if you've never seen a Master Class on interrogation, then you've got to watch the interrogation of Russell Williams by OPP's Jim Smyth! It's now used by police forces around the world for training purposes.)

 

[Snoopster]

IMO the victim was initially stuck in the windshield. The pictures of the car are telling, Right-front quarter panel near the headlights is the initial impact, probable about knee height. Victim is then slammed into the hood with his head impacting the windshield. If the victim had not stuck to the windshield, his body would have went up and over the car and probably landed in the shoulder.

There is no proof of that, especially in light of statements made by the victim's family shortly after the incident and based on their viewing of the crime scene. All evidence seems to be in front of the impact point and not behind it.

Thus, IMO after the impact and the defendant came to a stop, the victim was still attached to the car. IMO the defendant then drove the car forward and hit the brakes again, which caused the body to fly off the front of the car, roll on the shoulder and ultimately come to rest in the grassy area. IMO it is during this second event that the glasses fell off and ended up inside the car..probably when the defendant sped up after the collision in an effort to get the body off his car.

At least that is the scenario most favorable to the defendant. If not that, then someone physically removed the body from the car. IMO the victim's body was attached to the defendant's vehicle immediately after impact....IMO.

I haven't had a chance to read every post yet, but the thing that gets me is that his body was "found" on the south side of the road. That's a long way for a body to 'fly' if it was hit on the north shoulder. How did it get way over there? And wasn't that convenient that JR and the Sheriff only looked on the north side the night of the accident.

I you hit an object that large, surely you would have seen which way it flew off the car windshield/hood. Particularly if the head hit through the windshield hard enough to knock glasses inside the vehicle.

hmmmm...

IMO JR knew exactly what he hit. Deception all around.