Misidentification Lawsuit Settled

A Granite Falls man who was misidentified and wrongly jailed on a burglary accusation in 1995 has settled a lawsuit against King County.

Jerrimi Olsen, 23, said King County, Seattle/King County Crimestoppers and a publication called Crime Report have agreed to pay him a total of $83,250.

He also settled with Viacom, owner of a cable television company that aired reports labeling Olsen a fugitive. The money amount was not released.

“It means the opportunity to try to get it behind me and go on,” Olsen said Monday.

In November 1994, witnesses to a home burglary in south King County said they recognized a student from a nearby high school as the culprit. Olsen’s name came up in a computer search of driver’s licenses, but his only relation to the suspect was a similar-sounding name.

Olsen learned of the charge only after a warrant had been issued and his picture had been published in Crime Report and broadcast on television.

The case was thrown out by a King County Superior Court judge.

Since then, King County police have instituted stricter identification procedures.