CANYON CITY — Opening arguments in the Tyler Smith trial were made on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Grant County Courthouse, with Judge Dan Bunch of Klamath Falls presiding.

Smith stands accused of three felony counts: attempted rape, attempted sex abuse and fourth-degree assault, all pertaining to events alleged to have occurred on Aug. 31, 2018. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The trial began in earnest following a lengthy jury selection that involved the court sending the sheriff out into the community to hand out summonses to residents. After the 12 jurors and two alternates had been seated and prepared via instructions and clarifications on their role from Judge Bunch, opening arguments began.

Oregon Senior Assistant Attorney General Jayme Kimberly made opening statements for the prosecution. She was joined in court by Wheeler County District Attorney Gretchen Ladd. Andrea Coit, joined in court by co-counsel and husband Andrew Coit, made the opening statement for the defense.

Both attorneys outlined the roadmap for their upcoming arguments and introduced the witnesses and testimony jurors could expect in the days ahead. And both noted the complexity of the information that is to come.

The prosecution gave its statement first. Kimberly explained that the victim’s own journal detailing the events in question would play a central role in the prosecution’s case and spent time trying to preempt any claims of conspiracy on the part of the defense. Kimberly noted that there will not be physical evidence of the crime itself, as it was not reported for nearly a year, but emphasized that the case for the prosecution relies largely on the credibility of the victim’s testimony. She told the jurors that any witness can be relied on to settle a disputed fact.

The defense outlined its arguments as focusing on both the veracity of the testimony as well as the victim’s journal entry detailing the alleged attack. Coit brought in the larger context in which these events occurred, saying that Smith, then a Grant County sheriff’s deputy, was viewed as a threat to the sheriff’s office because he intended to reveal what she called an internal coverup regarding the investigation of Abigail Mobley, then a Grant County Jail employee. Coit further questioned the role and motives of then-Sheriff Glenn Palmer and current District Attorney Jim Carpenter, whom she implied were part of the alleged coverup of the events at the jail involving Abigail Mobley, then-wife of Undersheriff Zach Mobley. Coit noted the complexity of the case, ultimately building to the declaration that “sometimes conspiracies are true.”

The witness list hints at the extraordinary nature of the case, as testimony is to focus not only on the details surrounding the alleged crime itself but also on the defense allegations regarding the motives and actions of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. The witness list includes the current Grant County district attorney, former Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer, current Grant County Undersheriff Zach Mobley, the sheriff of Wheeler County, and Oregon State Police investigators who looked into allegations of misconduct against then-Grant County Deputy Abigail Mobley.