Charges dropped against Snohomish woman in cannon case

EVERETT — A telephone harassment charge was dismissed today against a Snohomish woman who was accused of making threats to a 16-year-old boy who nearly lost a leg in October when a ceremonial cannon exploded during a high school football game.

City of Everett prosecutors dismissed the misdemeanor charge against Dana Lynne Snyder, 41, in the interest of justice, an Everett Municipal Court judge was told at a hearing this morning.

“We believe the interest of justice was served today by the city agreeing to dismiss the charges,” said Snyder’s lawyer, David Seeley. “Ms. Snyder feels vindicated by the city’s willingness to dismiss the charge and is ready to move on with her life.”

Seeley said he conducted a detailed investigation of the harassment allegations and presented the results to prosecutors. “The public perception of the facts is quite a bit different than the reality,” he said.

The boy’s mother, his attorney and others said Brett Karch was being harassed because his injury put at risk a 30-year tradition of celebrating Snohomish football triumphs with blasts from the ceremonial cannon. Court records showed, however, that Snyder and Karch had long history, and that he’d essentially lived in her home for two years and was involved in her family’s long-running neighborhood dispute.

Karch alleged that Snyder called him at the hospital and made threats.

Everett prosecutors also investigated, including the defenses that Snyder would have raised, city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said.

“At this time we believe it is in the interests of justice to dismiss the charge without prejudice,” she said. “Following our thorough investigation, we have revealed that there still may be sufficient evidence to prosecute the case, however our prosecutors have used prosecutorial discretion when making the decision on whether to move the case forward.”