#WeekInJustice: Week 191
Earlier this month, the People’s Office achieved a major case win that’s been years in the making. For the third time this year, our prosecutor Lacee Collins has re-tried a case that was originally prosecuted by former Pima County Attorneys, she carried the torch forward and obtained a guilty verdict in a case that’s been on the books since 2017.
Last week, Lacee started the retrial of State v. Thorne Harnage. This case had been all over the court system, with repeated Motions to Remand and a special action. The victim and now survivor was abused by her uncle when she was 7 and 8 years old. She disclosed the abuse when she was 9 leading to a case that would haunt the family for years. After more than 7 years of fighting to get a conviction, the family was understandably emotional, drained, and at times wondered if they would ever get justice in the case.
Lacee worked to convince the family that she had a plan that would succeed. Lacee, who is known as a dedicated prosecutor, stayed on the case, and kept pressing forward to get the family the result they so desperately wanted. She was assisted by PCAO victim advocate and superhero Ileana Ortega, who was there every step of the way to help the family navigate the process. Thank you to both Lacee and Ileana for your hard work on this case.
This is one example of the extraordinary efforts and commitment that we strive for every day at The People’s Office.
Until next week.
PCAO Senior Leadership
