Indictment against coach dismissed

PALMER — A Superior Court judge has tossed out a five-felony grand jury indictment of a longtime Valley teacher and hockey coach.

Judge Vanessa White on Friday granted a motion to dismiss the case against James D. Smith, who state prosecutors have alleged defrauded the Alaska Avalanche Junior A hockey program’s booster club of more than $48,000. In her ruling, White agreed with Smith’s attorney, Palmer-based Josh Fannon, who argued in his motion that the state’s case was built around misleading and inaccurate testimony of a state investigator.

“I’m very pleased with the ruling and I think it’s the appropriate ruling,” Fannon said of the dismissal.

Smith, who held multiple front-office positions with the Junior Avalanche organization from 2005 to 2009, was charged with two counts of second-degree forgery and one count each of first-degree theft grater than $25,000, scheme to defraud more than $10,000 and fraudulent use of an access device greater than $25,000.

In the 43-page motion to dismiss the charges filed in September, Fannon argued that in his capacity with the hockey club, which included being president of the booster club, Smith’s use of the booster club’s account was legal. That’s because Smith ran the nonprofit Alaska Avalanche, which was a separate entity that the for-profit Alaska Avalanche Hockey Club. In the motion, Fannon argued that the investigator knew there were different non- and for-profit statuses with the business, but only testified to the grand jury about the for-profit business.

“The bottom line is, this case only hinges on was the business for-profit,” Fannon said in September after filing the motion to dismiss. “They claim that a for-profit business Jamie owned was having its bills paid for by the booster club.”

The more than 80 checks signed by Smith were all for legitimate expenses and fully legal, the motion argued. Those expenses include things like purchasing ice time, paying for scouting services, insurance, purchasing bingo pull-tabs, team travel, buying meals for visiting teams and other team-related expenditures.

“This, of course, as the state pointed out to the grand jury, would only be illegal conduct by Mr. Smith if the Alaska Avalanche were a for-profit organization,” the motion says. “If the Alaska Avalanche were a nonprofit organization, using the funds from the gaming permit held by the Spirit Booster Club would be perfectly legal and quite acceptable behavior. … (The investigator) misled the grand jurors with false information relating to the organizations’ business status.”

Prosecutors filed their opposition to the motion to dismiss the case Oct. 25, and White dismissed the charges Friday. Whether or not the state still intends to pursue any kind of case against Smith is not known, Fannon said.

Fannon wants to talk with prosecutors to see where the case goes from here, Fannon said.

“We want to meet with them to make sure Jamie can move on with his life and not have to worry about this anymore,” he said, adding that will allow Smith to “start working to repair his name in the community he grew up in.”

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.