MONROE - The Court of Appeals has thrown out an appeal from a man convicted of running a sports betting operation in Monroe because he "absconded" from his probation by moving to Costa Rica.
Werner Joe Rast, 51, moved to Costa Rica soon after a Green County judge last October fined him $10,000 and put him on 18 months of probation for 10 counts of commercial gambling, all Class I felonies.
The state considers him a fugitive for leaving the country without his probation agent's approval. The Department of Corrections issued a warrant for his arrest in December, entering him in a nationwide law enforcement database.
Rast filed his appeal in February and signed it using a post office box in the Perez Zeledon canton of San Jose, Costa Rica. He argues in his appeal the gambling charges against him were based on evidence seized in a warrantless search of his home in Monroe.
In a response filed in late April, the Court of Appeals does not address this argument. Instead, the three-judge panel ruled to dismiss Rast's appeal "because he has absconded from probation status."
"He has provided this court with an address in Costa Rica, which appears to corroborate the allegations made by the state," ruled Judges Paul Lundsten, Gary E. Sherman and JoAnne F. Kloppenburg.
Rast said in an email to The Monroe Times this week he's disappointed in the court's decision not to hear his appeal.
"The violation of one's rights is an important issue, and I was confident I would have won," he said.
As for the allegation that he left the country without his agent's approval, Rast says he made clear all along his intention to go to Costa Rica.
"I'm not sure why they were surprised," he said. "I did everything except draw them a picture."
He isn't planning to move back to Monroe, the city where he grew up and lived most of his life.
"If I can't live in the U.S. with my Fourth and 14th Amendment rights, I don't care to live there," he said.
The basis for Rast's appeal dates back to a police visit to his home in November 2007 that sparked the investigation into his bookkeeping. On Nov. 11, 2007, his then-wife called police to report him for domestic abuse and gave consent for a search of the home, according to court records.
Rast refused to give consent for a search and contends now the evidence gathered during the search should not be admissible as evidence for the gambling charges against him.
The wife's "invitation to police did not supersede Rast's right to privacy," his appeal states. "The warrantless search of the ... home over Rast's expressed objection to the search thus violated Rast's right to privacy, as protected from state infringement by the Fourth and 14th Amendments."
Now that his appeal has been tossed out, Rast is awaiting the end of his probation, which comes in April 2014.
"I guess after 18 months, we'll see what happens. It's just not worth it to me to come back and fight the illegal search, and it was an illegal search. Somewhere down the road someone else will have to fight this fight, I guess," he said.
Another Monroe man convicted in the gambling operation, Jeffrey "Twitty" Conway, 53, was also put on an 18-month probation. He paid his fine and court costs in full less than two weeks after his January sentencing.
Court records show Rast still owes the court $12,908, though he said this week he's paid it.
"I didn't pay my fine initially because I figured I'd win my appeal, but once I got the news about my appeal, the fine got paid," he said.
Werner Joe Rast, 51, moved to Costa Rica soon after a Green County judge last October fined him $10,000 and put him on 18 months of probation for 10 counts of commercial gambling, all Class I felonies.
The state considers him a fugitive for leaving the country without his probation agent's approval. The Department of Corrections issued a warrant for his arrest in December, entering him in a nationwide law enforcement database.
Rast filed his appeal in February and signed it using a post office box in the Perez Zeledon canton of San Jose, Costa Rica. He argues in his appeal the gambling charges against him were based on evidence seized in a warrantless search of his home in Monroe.
In a response filed in late April, the Court of Appeals does not address this argument. Instead, the three-judge panel ruled to dismiss Rast's appeal "because he has absconded from probation status."
"He has provided this court with an address in Costa Rica, which appears to corroborate the allegations made by the state," ruled Judges Paul Lundsten, Gary E. Sherman and JoAnne F. Kloppenburg.
Rast said in an email to The Monroe Times this week he's disappointed in the court's decision not to hear his appeal.
"The violation of one's rights is an important issue, and I was confident I would have won," he said.
As for the allegation that he left the country without his agent's approval, Rast says he made clear all along his intention to go to Costa Rica.
"I'm not sure why they were surprised," he said. "I did everything except draw them a picture."
He isn't planning to move back to Monroe, the city where he grew up and lived most of his life.
"If I can't live in the U.S. with my Fourth and 14th Amendment rights, I don't care to live there," he said.
The basis for Rast's appeal dates back to a police visit to his home in November 2007 that sparked the investigation into his bookkeeping. On Nov. 11, 2007, his then-wife called police to report him for domestic abuse and gave consent for a search of the home, according to court records.
Rast refused to give consent for a search and contends now the evidence gathered during the search should not be admissible as evidence for the gambling charges against him.
The wife's "invitation to police did not supersede Rast's right to privacy," his appeal states. "The warrantless search of the ... home over Rast's expressed objection to the search thus violated Rast's right to privacy, as protected from state infringement by the Fourth and 14th Amendments."
Now that his appeal has been tossed out, Rast is awaiting the end of his probation, which comes in April 2014.
"I guess after 18 months, we'll see what happens. It's just not worth it to me to come back and fight the illegal search, and it was an illegal search. Somewhere down the road someone else will have to fight this fight, I guess," he said.
Another Monroe man convicted in the gambling operation, Jeffrey "Twitty" Conway, 53, was also put on an 18-month probation. He paid his fine and court costs in full less than two weeks after his January sentencing.
Court records show Rast still owes the court $12,908, though he said this week he's paid it.
"I didn't pay my fine initially because I figured I'd win my appeal, but once I got the news about my appeal, the fine got paid," he said.