This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Salt Lake County constable has been charged again for altering an arrest report, just weeks after the charges were dismissed against him and his wife.
Silvan Warnick, 56, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with tampering with a witness and tampering with evidence, both third-degree felonies.
The case was dismissed by Judge William Barrett on March 13 because Barrett said prosecutors had filed the case under the wrong criminal code. Barrett also said he did not believe that the wife's actions rose to a criminal level.
Salt Lake County prosecutor Brad Cooley said the act itself raised questions about the integrity of Warnick's office.
"Their intent was to make that specific information unavailable" for a criminal investigation or potential civil action, Cooley said. After the March 13 court hearing, Cooley said it was "likely" prosecutors would re-file charges against the husband — and refile they did.
On Aug. 24, a man who had been given jail time fled the South Salt Lake Justice Court. A deputy constable contracted by the court through Warnick's agency to work as a bailiff ran after the man, who stopped and assumed what the bailiff perceived as "a fighting stance," according to court documents.
The bailiff used a baton on the man and threatened him with pepper spray. Another deputy constable arrived and placed one handcuff on the man. The bailiff looked around for a moment then turned back to see the deputy constable holding the man down on the seat of a truck, telling him to stop resisting. The bailiff later described the capture in a report.
But Warnick, who is the bailiff's supervisor, asked him to remove the portion of the report describing the force used to capture the escapee, according to charges. The bailiff refused and decided to secretly record his future interactions with Warnick.
A month later during a training meeting, Warnick told the bailiff and other deputy constables he employs what shouldn't go into a police report. The bailiff recorded the meeting.
"If somebody's wondering why you arrested somebody, 'Well, I beat the [expletive] out of him on the way in,' No, uh-uh, you don't put that in the report," Warnick said, according to court documents.
Warnick added: "We are not going to show them our errors."
Warnick later showed the bailiff a modified version of the original report with the statements describing the use of force removed, according to court documents.
He told the bailiff he had submitted the altered copy to the Attorney General's Office, "just to keep you out of hot water, keep us out of hot water," according to court documents.
Warnick went on to say that he had his wife "delete a lot of this stuff."
When the bailiff disagreed with Warnick's decision, Warnick replied that he could give the AG the original report, "but it's going to open you up to a lot," he cautioned, according to court documents.
Based on the bailiff's recordings, investigators with the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office met in October with Warnick, who admitted he told his wife to remove portions of the original report.
Constables are appointed and contracted by Salt Lake County to provide court services or execute court orders, Hall said. A constable is required to be Police Officer Standards and Training certified as a special function officer and has full police authority when on duty.
Warnick is scheduled to have a hearing on April 2 before Judge Ann Boyden.
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