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Idaho U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI Personnel Accept Prestigious Award with Murder Victims in Mind

U.S. Attorney’s Office October 23, 2009
  • District of Idaho (208) 334-1211

It was a killing spree that took the lives of four residents of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; a random and deadly rampage that left a young Idaho girl without her mother, her mother’s fiancé, and two of her brothers. The losses were also suffered by a large extended family that continues to miss their children, grandchildren, siblings, and nephews. Four years after the murders, the community still grieves along with them. This week, staff from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and Special Agents and support personnel assigned to the Boise and Coeur D’ Alene Resident Agencies of the Salt Lake City FBI Field Office, were both honored and humbled to accept the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement. The award is the result of their dedicated work solving the crime and successfully prosecuting defendant Joseph Edward Duncan III.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder recognized a total of 247 Department of Justice employees for their distinguished public service at the 57th Annual Attorney General Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C.Thirty-nine other individuals outside of the department also were honored for their work. Held at Constitution Hall, this annual ceremony recognizes both department employees and others for their dedication to carrying out the Department of Justice’s mission. Five employees from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Idaho, and six employees from the FBI in Idaho were among those who received the prestigious award.

The 11 recipients from Idaho were part of the investigation and prosecutorial trial team in the Joseph Duncan case. In May 2005, Duncan murdered three people at a residence in Coeur d’ Alene then abducted two children from the home. He later killed one of them—9-year-old Dylan Groene. The Idaho team worked to secure a federal death penalty conviction against Duncan. “It is my privilege to honor these recipients for their outstanding service and commitment to our country,” Attorney General Holder said. “Each of these dedicated servants has carried out the important mission of the Department of Justice and has done so with excellence and distinction.Their varied accomplishments have advanced the interests of justice on behalf of the American people, and I’m proud to call them my colleagues.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho, Tom Moss, noted how this tragedy lives on in the minds of many in Idaho. "This was an opportunity to applaud the commitment and efforts of our dedicated employees as well as our dedicated federal, state and local law enforcement agents and officers, notably the FBI, Idaho State Police, Kootenai County Sheriff's Office and Coeur d’Alene Police Department, but also a time to remember the victims and survivors of this tragic event. Although nothing we can do will heal the wounds this family has suffered, we hope that we have brought some sense of justice and closure.

Special Agent in Charge, Timothy J. Fuhrman, of the Salt Lake City FBI Field Office reflected on the case and the victims. “As we have said from the beginning, the number one goal of the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office personnel who investigated and prosecuted this case, was to achieve justice for the victims of the heinous criminal act perpetrated by Mr. Duncan,” said Fuhrman. “Recognition of the efforts of the personnel most deeply involved in this case is a testament to not only their efforts, but a number of other personnel from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Salt Lake City FBI Field Office. They worked together to achieve justice for Dylan Groene, Brenda Groene, Slade Groene, Mark McKenzie, and of course, Shasta Groene. These efforts by both the investigative staff and prosecutive staff are in the highest traditions of the FBI and the Department of Justice. Finally, this recognition could not have occurred without the cooperation and involvement of Steve Groene and other family members and friends of the victims.”

The five recipients from the U.S. Attorney’s Office included Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wendy Olson and Traci Whelan, Paralegal Specialist Denise Price, Litigation Support Specialist Pam Rocca, and Victim-Witness Specialist Kristi Johnson. The six recipients from the FBI included Special Agents Mike Gneckow and Gail Gneckow, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Donald Robinson, Jr., Investigative Operations Analyst Dorothy Boyles, Evidence Technician Esther Tamez, and Financial Analyst Michele Lewis.

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