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A Medford detective is embroiled in a $10 million civil rights lawsuit and an internal investigation over questions about a criminal case that was dropped after it became known she was friends with the alleged victim. Grants Pass resident Rochelle Stocker filed the lawsuit Jan. 24 in U.S. District Court against the city of Medford, Medford police Detective Brenda Garich, and Carolyn Lesley of Noel Lesley Event Services Inc., a Phoenix (Ore.) company that stages events for the NFL. The lawsuit, which alleges abuse of process and malicious prosecution, claims Stocker was unfairly investigated by Garich, also known as Brenda Bloomfield, for allegedly stealing from Noel Lesley while Stocker worked there as a bookkeeper. Stocker claims in a Jan. 7 complaint to internal affairs at the police department that Garich harassed her at the behest of Lesley over questions about mileage claims totaling $5,635 and alleges that Garich showed up at her new place of employment, Kairos in Grants Pass, ultimately resulting in her losing that $65,000-a-year job. On May 1, 2017, Garich’s investigation into Stocker resulted in an indictment with nine felony counts and one misdemeanor count involving theft and computer crime. The case against Stocker was dismissed Dec. 10, 2018, at the request of the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office. Melissa LeRitz, the deputy district attorney who handled the case, said she had been prepared to proceed with it until Lesley indicated she didn’t want to continue. “My sense it went on for a while and got tiring for the victim,” LeRitz said. Stocker resigned from Noel Lesley Feb. 6, 2017, after what she claims was an increasingly hostile work environment including frequent comments from Lesley that amounted to “sexual harassment,” including references to sexting and affairs. In the suit, Stocker said that during the 2016 Super Bowl, Lesley had suggested Stocker was sending naked photos of herself because of talk about another Noel Lesley employee, Billy Thompson, receiving texts from a “skinny girl.” “Lesley elaborated, stating, ‘these have to be from (Stocker) because she is a skinny girl,’” the suit alleges. The suit claims Lesley sent numerous text messages to Garich encouraging her to investigate Stocker about mileage reimbursement, cellphone reimbursement and taking unnecessary sick days. Stocker, who was required to travel for her job, denies she took any inappropriate reimbursements. “(Garich) engaged in a series of text messages with Lesley where (Garich) asked Lesley what she wanted: ‘money or jail,’” the suit alleges. A February 2016 photo at the Super Bowl, provided by Stocker, shows Garich and Lesley standing together on the field after the game. “Lesley intended to use (Garich’s) position as a detective with MPD to leverage the full weight of the criminal justice process in furtherance of Lesley’s malicious personal vendetta against (Stocker),” the suit alleges. Lesley and Garich could not be reached for comment Tuesday. After the criminal case was dismissed, Stocker filed a complaint with the Medford Police Department Jan. 7 against Garich alleging the detective attempted to keep her friendship with Lesley a secret while Garich conducted the investigation. “We — myself and my defense team — uncovered the extent of their friendship and disclosed it to Jackson County Deputy District Attorney Melissa LeRitz,” Stocker’s Jan. 7 letter to Medford police stated. “I believe that Detective (Garich) attempted to keep it a secret from the DA’s office.” She also questioned why a Medford police detective would be investigating a case in Phoenix rather than the Phoenix Police Department. Garich is a detective in the Medford Police Department’s financial crimes division. Medford police officials didn’t respond to calls from the Mail Tribune about the department’s policy regarding a detective investigating cases in another city. On Aug. 27, 2018, Eric Mitton, attorney for the city of Medford, responded to a subpoena for Garich’s text messages. “But that fact is already uncontested; Det. Garich is friends with Victim and has been for years,” according to court documents. Mitton objected to the subpoena’s request for all of Garich’s personal cellphone records for three years. “Defendant may be fishing for evidence of some sort of conspiracy or improper collusion between Victim and Det. Garich,” he stated. “There is no conspiracy and no improper collusion.” Mitton, contacted by phone Monday, said he could not discuss any personnel matters about Garich other than to say there has been no disciplinary action taken against her. He also confirmed she is still continuing her duties as a detective. Under public records law, the Mail Tribune has requested a copy of any internal investigation into Garich, though Mitton cited Oregon Revised Statue 181A.830(3) as a reason not to disclose the information: “A public body may not disclose information about a personnel investigation of a public safety employee of the public body if the investigation does not result in discipline of the employee.” Matthew Rowan, Stocker’s Medford attorney with Collins Rowan LLP in Medford, said he couldn’t discuss the case any further. “I think the complaint speaks for itself,” he said. He confirmed that the suit is seeking $2 million in economic and noneconomic damages as well as $8 million in punitive damages. He said Stocker “categorically denies” the statements made by Lesley suggesting his client was engaged in sexting or affairs. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected] . Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm .