Deputy prosecutor now deputy sheriff

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, June 19, 2005

EVERETT – Ron Doersch’s undergraduate degree in English literature served him well for 22 years as a Snohomish County deputy prosecutor.

When the situation warranted, Doersch quoted Lord Byron, William Shakespeare or Ernest Hemingway.

Michael V. Martina / The Herald Former Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Ron Doersch trains on a firearms simulator at a Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office training facility in Everett. At 51, Doersch is switching careers to become a sheriff’s deputy.

One of his favorite and most effective lines he used at the start of closing arguments was from Sir Walter Scott: “Oh, what tangled webs we weave, when we first practice to deceive.”

The veteran prosecutor may have fewer chances to show off his literary acumen from now on.

As of Wednesday, he has switched from a courtroom and a suit to a patrol car and the uniform of a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy.

At age 51, Doersch has made an unusual career change that will earn him at least a third less than what he was making but will bring him the satisfaction of living a lifelong dream of working as a cop.

He grew up living above his father’s delicatessen in New York City, a window about eight feet away from the Jamaica Avenue L train. The son of German immigrants, he didn’t speak English around the house until he was 5 years old.

As a youngster, he looked up to cops as heroes, and it was the modern miracle of laser eye surgery that allowed him to pass an eye test and switch jobs.

“If my eyes had been good back in those days, in all likelihood I would have been a New York City police officer for 30 years,” Doersch said.

Added to the mix was his growing sense that it was time for him to do something else. And he has questions about certain appellate court decisions, such as the ones that twice sent the Jerry Bartlett Jones murder case back to Snohomish County Superior Court for Doersch to try.

The Jones case was only his second murder case when Doersch first tried Jones for killing his wife, Lee Jones, in 1989. He subsequently got two more juries to convict Jones in 2001 and this March – after the appellate courts found fault in earlier trials.

Doersch called the case his most stressful, and the one that carried the most emotional impact on him.

The prosecutor’s office is sorry to see Doersch go.

Mark Roe, chief criminal deputy prosecutor, said Doersch was the conscience of the office.

“We’re supposed to be the good guys, 100 percent honest and above board,” said Roe, who once was supervised by Doersch. “The primary reason most of us learned that is from Ron Doersch.”

The sheriff’s office is happy.

“I personally think it’s exciting to see a person follow their dreams to the point where they can live their dream,” said Tom Green, the sheriff’s bureau chief. “He’s a good catch, and we’re delighted to have him.”

The career switch doesn’t surprise retired Superior Court Judge Joseph Thibodeau.

“He was really a law-and-order kind of guy,” Thibodeau said.

The judge, who often saw Doersch in action, credited him with giving quality explanations of cases for juries to follow.

“He didn’t waste a lot of words. Things were planned out and he went right to it,” Thibodeau said. “He never played games and tried cases on their merits.”

Bill Jaquette, head of the Snohomish County Public Defender Association, said Doersch’s direct style was effective.

“He went right to the point in cross examining, so there was not a lot of dancing around the issues,” Jaquette said.

Kenneth Cowsert, a former prosecutor colleague and now a Superior Court judge, is pleased Doersch will do what he really wants.

“He’s really good. He communicates well. He has a good presence in the courtroom,” Cowsert said. “He knows the rules. If he weren’t a friend of mine, I’d still hold him in high regard because he’s a consummate professional.”

Doersch will have to attend a law enforcement academy, just like any raw recruit. He will spend some time in a patrol car with a more experienced officer for training.

He said he’ll be glad to stay on patrol “for as long as they let me, but I’ll go where I’m sent.”

The job switch will mean that his prosecutor wife, Mara Rozzano, will become the primary breadwinner.

She will worry about him possibly coming to harm in the often-dangerous job as a cop, but she’s happy for Doersch.

“I think it’s fantastic to see how happy he is. He’s excited that he has the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream. It’s fantastic,” Rozzano said.

In a way, being a deputy sheriff will be like him taking a retirement job, she said.

And Doersch expects no favors because he was a prosecutor.

“I want to deserve the right to be a cop,” Doersch said. “A law degree is nice, but I’m not wearing it on my forehead. When I walk in the door I prefer people not even think about me as a lawyer.”

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.