The attorney for the two Coalfire cybersecurity operatives who allegedly trespassed Sept. 11 at the Dallas County Courthouse entered pleas of not guilty on his clients’ behalf Wednesday and asked for a jury trial, which Dallas County District Court Magistrate Donna Schauer scheduled for April 20, 2020.
The case first attracted attention when Gary DeMercurio, 43, of Seattle, Wash., and Justin Wynn, 29, of Naples, Fla., were arrested on charges of third-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools after allegedly tripping a burglar alarm in the courthouse at 908 Court St. in Adel shortly after midnight Sept. 11.
Investigation revealed the office of the State Court Administration hired the Westminster, Colo., cybersecurity firm in 2015 to assess the security of Iowa’s electronic court records, including specifying “rules of engagement” for a “penetration test” of the record system. The Iowa Judicial Branch issued a statement Sept. 18 that included a number of documents related to its contractual arrangements with Coalfire.
The original charges of burglary were reduced Oct. 25 to criminal trespass, a move drawing strong criticism from Coalfire CEO Tom McAndrew, who called the matter “completely ridiculous” and said DeMercurio and Wynn were “unsung heroes, not criminals.” He called for the cases to be dismissed.
“After the Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice (Mark Cady) apologized and admitted mistakes were made, I was expecting all charges to be dropped,” McAndrew said in a statement published Oct. 29 on the Coalfire website. “I’m embarrassed by the way our employees have been vilified, one of which is a former Marine Corps officer, for doing the job they were paid to do. I’m ashamed that no one has had the courage to step up and do what is right. People appear to be more concerned about their own jobs or the political repercussions.”
McAndrew also blasted Dallas County Sheriff Chad Leonard for not immediately setting free DeMercurio and Wynn, Coalfire’s two quasi-military penetration testers, on the strength of an “engagement letter” they produced at the time of their arrest. McAndrew said Leonard “failed to exercise common sense and good judgement and turned this engagement into a political battle between the state and the county.”
The Coalfire CEO and a separate Oct. 29 Coalfire press release made a number of claims about the facts and circumstances of the arrests and the character of the alleged criminals that could unduly influence potential jurors, according to Dallas County Attorney Charles Sinnard.
“My concern,” Sinnard told ThePerryNews.com Tuesday, “and the ethical rule’s concern is about pretrial statements about facts. The public, the potential jury pool, is only going to get one perspective and if potentially they’re brought in to hear a case, they have already formulated an opinion. That’s the concern.”
Sheriff Leonard was similarly cautious about discussing the case before the April trial.
“I stand by the decision I made,” Leonard said. “Obviously, I can’t make comments about the case because it’s still in the court’s hands.” He urged the public to keep an open mind and avoid prejudgment.
“I do look forward to informing the public of everything,” Leonard said. “I would just encourage people to not make an opinion until they have all the facts, and I assure you that all the facts are not out there.”
Magistrate Schauer scheduled a pretrial conference in the cases for Feb. 18, 2020. For reasons unknown, Dallas County District Court Judge Randy V. Hefner recused himself from the cases Nov. 1.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
