Woman advocates Dewey domestic abuse case move forward

Jan. 28—A Texas woman is fighting for her case to move forward in Washington County five months after an alleged domestic abuse incident in Dewey left her with a fractured spine and frustrated when charges were not filed.

Yvette Drew said her six-year marriage to William Trusty has been tumultuous, and her goal now is to feel she is taken seriously by law enforcement and help others in similar situations.

"There's got to be some repercussions. That's what I'm hoping for," Drew said. "This could happen to another person. They might get killed. I could too. It could have easily been my neck and not a vertebrae in my back."

Dewey Police records show an officer responded to Drew's rental home Aug. 20 when neighbor Ricky Williams called about an injured woman on the front lawn. Drew said Trusty pushed her from the porch, although Trusty told police she fell.

Medical records from the Ascension St. John Jane Phillips Emergency Department on Aug. 20, and from a follow-up visit at Bailey Medical Center in Owasso on Sept. 27, reflect a compression fracture on Drew's first lumbar vertebrae.

It was not the couple's first encounter with the law. Court records show Trusty was arrested for domestic abuse charges in July 2019 in Dallas County, Texas, and again in early 2020 in Elk County, Kansas.

Trusty could not be reached for comment for this story.

Following her release from Ascension, Drew moved to Texas to be with family. Trusty was arrested in January for a Dec. 11 domestic abuse incident involving Drew in Denton County, Texas.

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Buchanan's office confirmed it received the police report Dec. 10 in the Dewey incident and has not brought charges or filed an arrest warrant.

Through email, Buchanan said "there are a multitude of reasons" he has not filed charges in the case, citing Drew providing "new and different information" and not providing requested information to the Dewey Police.

Dewey Police Chief Mike Shea, however, said his office has sent everything to Buchanan and is waiting for the DA's office to communicate there is a warrant.

"(It) is entirely the DA's call. Everything we have — the original reports, the medical records — has been submitted to the DA. It's all up there," Shea said.

Buchanan did not respond to a request for clarification on the "new and different information" Drew provided. He said Drew "convincing the newspaper reporter of her veracity" does not impact his "obligations to file appropriate charges when warranted."

He would not address the charges levied against Trusty in three other jurisdictions.

Drew said she has been trying to separate herself from Trusty, but does not have the money to legally divorce him. She was hopeful, she said, when he was bonded from the Elk County jail on condition he not contact her, which court records corroborate. Drew moved to Dewey to start over and save money.

Then Trusty followed. And after the Aug. 20 incident, nothing seemed to change.

"The whole time I was at the hospital until I was released, no one came to take my report," Drew said. "I've called the district attorney's office ... I can't count how many times I've called to see what they're going to do with no response."

Shea said while he does not think his office "dropped the ball by any means," he understands Drew's frustration with delays in the case.

Things were initially not "clear-cut" for an arrest, because Dewey Police Officer Robert Johnson was not able to take Drew's statement before she was taken to the hospital and did not go to the hospital that night to take the statement.

When Johnson followed up a few days later, Drew had moved to Texas and it was hard to get in touch with her. Then they had to get the medical records.

"I would be (frustrated) too. It's just one of those things where it took a lot longer than it's supposed to. Our department will have to take part of the blame and she'll have to take part of the blame. I'm not trying to lay anything on her," Shea said.

___

(c)2021 the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise (Bartlesville, Okla.)

Visit the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise (Bartlesville, Okla.) at www.examiner-enterprise.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.