Russian spy intrigue fizzles as Hawaii stolen ID trial nears

Apr 25, 2023, 10:35 AM

FILE - This combination of undated photos provided by the United States District Court District of ...

FILE - This combination of undated photos provided by the United States District Court District of Hawaii shows Walter Glenn Primose, left, also known as Bobby Edward Fort, and his wife, Gwynn Darle Morrison, also known as Julie Lyn Montague, purportedly in KGB, the former Russian spy agency, uniforms. U.S. prosecutors who introduced Russian spy intrigue into the case of the couple accused of living for decades in Hawaii under identities stolen from dead babies are now saying they don't want jurors to hear about the photographs showing them wearing foreign uniforms. A U.S. judge granted the request, ruling that the uniforms are not relevant to the upcoming trial. (United States District Court District of Hawaii via AP, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(United States District Court District of Hawaii via AP, File)

U.S. prosecutors who introduced Russian spy intrigue into the case of a couple accused of living for decades in Hawaii under identities stolen from dead babies are now saying they don’t want jurors to hear about photographs showing them wearing foreign uniforms.

A U.S. judge granted the request last week, ruling that the uniforms are not relevant to the upcoming trial for charges involving identity theft and passport fraud. Defense attorneys have said from the start those uniforms were worn once for fun.

When the former U.S. defense contractor and his wife were arrested last year, prosecutors suggested the case was about more than just identity theft.

According to prosecutors, Walter Glenn Primrose and Gwynn Darle Morrison are the real names of the couple who have been fraudulently living for decades under stolen identities Bobby Fort and Julie Montague. Prosecutors say Primrose spent more than 20 years in the Coast Guard as Bobby Fort, where he obtained secret-level security clearance. After retiring in 2016, he used the secret clearance for his defense job, prosecutors said.

There is no indication in court papers why the couple in 1987 assumed the identities of deceased children, who would have been more than a decade younger than them.

A search of the couple’s home in Kapolei, a Honolulu suburb, turned up Polaroids of them wearing jackets that appear to be authentic KGB uniforms, an invisible ink kit, documents with coded language and maps showing military bases, prosecutors said.

They have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, false statement in a passport application and aggravated identity theft. Trial is scheduled for next month but could be delayed because a new lawyer was appointed for Primrose last week.

Prosecutors last month filed a motion “to preclude examination or testimony concerning Defendants wearing or being photographed in foreign military uniforms.” Prosecutors said they were irrelevant to the charges and U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi agreed.

Defense attorneys for the couple have said they took a photo wearing the same jacket years ago as a joke.

In an email from prosecutors to defense attorneys, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Muehleck wrote that a witness said the photos were taken sometime in the 1990s and U.S. agents were given the “alleged uniform.”

Defense attorneys said that debunks the spy theory.

In a subsequent email from prosecutors to defense attorneys about seized letters referring to the couple using other aliases, Muehleck wrote, “The United States retracts that argument,” adding that they later learned those were just nicknames “and some of them were the product of inside jokes in relation to Primrose and Morrison.”

Alexander Silvert, a retired federal defender for the Hawaii district who is not involved in the case, said it sounds like prosecutors overreacted to the photos.

Upon searching further, “they probably … realized they overreacted and these are not Russian spies,” he said. “These are people who stole other people’s identity, which is not, unfortunately, uncommon these days.”

But there’s also another far-fetched possibility, he said.

“The wild conspiracy theorists would say maybe they really are Russian spies, but the government doesn’t want anybody to know that,” Silvert said.

In response to an Associated Press email asking what became of the spy speculation, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliot Enoki, a spokesperson for the office, said, “We have nothing further to add to any public filings or comments already made.”

A hearing is scheduled Wednesday for Morrison’s request to reconsider a previous detention ruling. A hearing for Primrose’s similar request hadn’t yet been scheduled.

“I said from the beginning this is not a Russian spy case,” Silvert said. “It’s just a vanilla ID theft that had a wrinkle to it.”

United States News

Los Angeles police officers separate protestors at the Saticoy Elementary School in the North Holly...

Associated Press

Protests erupt outside Los Angeles elementary school’s Pride month assembly

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police officers separated groups of protesters and counterprotesters Friday outside a Los Angeles elementary school that has become a flashpoint for Pride month events across California. People protesting a planned Pride month assembly outside the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Saticoy Elementary School wore T-shirts emblazoned with “Leave our kids alone” […]

11 hours ago

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Sayreville, N.J., Borough Council shows Sayreville Counci...

Associated Press

Suspect in New Jersey pastor’s slaying to remain held Virginia until hearing

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A church associate charged with gunning down a New Jersey pastor will remain in custody in Virginia until a June 29 extradition hearing after a hearing Friday was postponed, court records show. Rashid Ali Bynum, 29, of Portsmouth, Virginia, had previously lived in Sayreville, where victim Eunice Dwumfour lived with her 11-year-old […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

Rights upheld, lawsuit revived against teacher accused of cutting Native American student’s hair

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An appeals court ruling has revived an anti-discrimination lawsuit accusing an Albuquerque teacher of cutting off one Native American girl’s hair and asking another if she was dressed as a “bloody Indian” during class on Halloween. Outrage over the girls’ treatment propelled legislation in New Mexico and beyond that prohibits […]

11 hours ago

This GOES-East GeoColor satellite image taken Friday, June 2, 2023 at 1:21 p.m. EDT., and provided ...

Associated Press

Tropical Storm Arlene, 1st of season, forms in Gulf of Mexico

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Arlene, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed Friday in the Gulf of Mexico on a track taking the cyclone south toward the western tip of Cuba. National Hurricane Center forecasters said in a 1:30 p.m. advisory that Arlene had sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) […]

11 hours ago

Associated Press

People trapped after building partially collapses near Yale campus

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — New Haven firefighters and other authorities responded Friday to reports of a partial building collapse with people trapped a few blocks away from Yale University. Few details were immediately available. Initial information indicated there was a partial collapse of a building under construction on Lafayette Street and some people were […]

11 hours ago

FILE - Absentee ballots wait to be processed at the Lee County Circuit Clerk's Office in Tupelo, Mi...

Associated Press

Mississippi absentee ballot law harms voters with disabilities, lawsuit says

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s new restrictions on absentee ballots could disenfranchise voters who have disabilities by preventing them from receiving help from people they trust, according to a lawsuit that seeks to block the restrictions. The law — set to take effect July 1 — sets a short list of people who can “collect […]

11 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

Russian spy intrigue fizzles as Hawaii stolen ID trial nears