Accuser’s drug test comes up negative

A key piece of evidence has been thrown out in the rape case that prompted 61 other women to report encounters with Spokane property manager Arlin R. Jordin.

Jordin, 57, was arrested on the charge of second-degree rape on Dec. 6 after a 34-year-old woman claimed that he put drugs in her drink and then raped her. She had gone to his home to discuss an apartment Jordin had for rent.

A drug screen the day after the alleged assault showed that the victim had Benzodiazepine in her system. That class of drugs is commonly used for date rapes because when mixed with alcohol it can render victims unconscious, court records state.

But a second, more recent drug screen shows no existence of Benzodiazepine or any other class of drugs used in date rapes, Sgt. Brad Arleth said.

“However, we are still submitting (the case) for charges based on … everything else contained in the affidavit,” Arleth said. “There was sexual activity and she states she was incapacitated and didn’t give consent.”

Jordin’s attorney, Bevan Maxey, criticized police for withholding the results of the latest toxicology tests for more than a week.

“I think number one, it’s important for the public to know that what was initially publicized – that they had a positive test – is not accurate,” Maxey said. “Unfortunately, if they had waited for all the information, they possibly would not have had numerous reports against Mr. Jordin.”

The 34-year-old woman who reported the most recent assault said Friday that she was disappointed to hear about the new test results.

“Just considering how I reacted and how I felt, I know I was drugged. It’s weird they found it at the hospital and not at the state lab,” she said. “I just hope there is some way we can get him off the streets.”

Jordin, in court documents, said he had sex with the woman, but that it was consensual.

Maxey argued that the false information about the positive drug screen may have resulted in false allegations against his client.

“I think in the interest of fairness, if you are going to solicit responses from the public, it’s important to give accurate information,” Maxey said. “In the meantime, more people believe everything that has been said. (Jordin is) running into problems with harassment. He thinks it’s important that before they judge him and label him that they have the full picture.”

Of the 62 women who came forward, 11 told Detective Jan Pogachar that they believed they were drugged and then raped by Jordin. Another nine women said they believe Jordin drugged them but they were able to get away before anything else happened.

The remaining 42 women reported odd behavior, such as Jordin answering the door in a terry-cloth robe or offering drinks while he conducted his rental business, Pogachar said in an earlier interview.

Arleth said Pogachar on Monday will resubmit documents to Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Ed Hay asking him to officially charge Jordin with the same second-degree rape charge. However, the new paperwork will indicate that a drug screen came back negative, he said.

Asked if the lack of a positive drug screen will hurt the case, Arleth said: “That’s something the prosecutor’s office has to answer.”

In addition to the amended charging documents, Pogachar will re-submit documents for a 2000 case in which a woman made a similar rape allegation against Jordin. At the time, prosecutors declined to take the case.

Deputy Prosecutor Hay said Friday that he is still waiting on further tests before he decides how to handle the most recent rape allegation. He deferred any comments about the drug screening to Arleth.

According to court records, the 34-year-old woman met Jordin on Nov. 23 and he offered her two drinks. She says she doesn’t remember anything until waking the next morning and discovering she was naked in Jordin’s bed.

“I remember him waking me up the next morning, shoving my clothes at me and telling me I had to get going,” the woman said in a previous interview. “I remember going to my car kind of stunned, not sure what had just happened and trying to figure it out.”

Later that day, the woman told a friend about her encounter and the friend drove her to Holy Family Hospital. The woman had fresh bruises on the inside of her arm. “The bruises are similar to being grabbed by a person’s hand,” a police officer wrote in court records.

On Dec. 3, officers conducted a search warrant at Jordin’s home and found a long list of prescription drugs and other pills that were not labeled. Arleth said Friday that tests on all those confiscated drugs have not yet been completed.

Maxey questioned the strength of the state’s case based on the false drug screen.

“I think it’s important to know that somebody made an allegation that drugs were used to debilitate them and then you find there are no drugs in their system,” he said. “That’s critical to the analysis of the case that’s been alleged.”