Suit Alleges Death May Not Have Been Mishap : Litigation: Victim’s family says Sheriff’s Department prematurely concluded that ex-drug agent shot his wife in gun-cleaning accident.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies were accused in a lawsuit Tuesday of having poorly investigated the fatal shooting of a San Juan Capistrano woman last year and prematurely concluding that her husband shot her accidentally.

Yvonne R. Clarke, 41, was killed in her home’s tiny office on Oct. 28, 1990, purportedly while Robert R. Clarke, a retired state narcotics agent, was cleaning a .45-caliber pistol a few feet away from her. In less than a day, sheriff’s homicide investigators concluded that no foul play was involved.

A local private investigator and an attorney for Yvonne Clarke’s relatives now say they have uncovered some unusual circumstances surrounding the shooting. They include indications that the Sheriff’s Department quickly closed its books on the case, failed to look into possible motives for murder, and was biased in favor of Robert Clarke because he is a former law enforcement officer.

“We are not satisfied with the Orange County sheriff’s investigation and we are not satisfied with Bob Clarke’s story,” said Robert D. Grisanti, Yvonne Clarke’s father. “The farthest thing on our mind is money. We want it to come into the open that investigators were protecting a brother police officer in this case.”

The Grisantis are suing Robert Clarke of San Juan Capistrano, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the state Department of Justice, where Robert Clarke worked as an investigator before he took a stress-related retirement.

Family members are seeking an unspecified amount of general and punitive damages, but more than that, Grisanti said he hopes the suit will prompt a reopening of the case or a grand jury investigation.

Robert Clarke could not be reached for comment Tuesday, and a sheriff’s spokesman said department policy prohibits deputies from discussing pending litigation against the department.

In May, however, county risk management officials turned down the Grisantis’ claim for $10 million in damages. Claims Manager Dennis L. Bunker notified the family’s attorney by mail that an in-house investigation of the shooting determined that the county was not negligent. A similar claim against the state was denied in August.

Grisanti, who lives in San Gabriel, said the Orange County district attorney’s office also sent him a letter stating that the death of his only daughter was accidental.

His lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, alleges conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and the deliberate destruction of evidence related to the shooting.

Yvonne Clarke died of a single bullet wound in the head. Her husband, Robert, told sheriff’s homicide investigators that his .45-caliber automatic “had gone off” while he was cleaning it at a small table near his wife’s desk.

But Julie A. Harney, the Grisanti’s attorney, alleges in the lawsuit that Robert Clarke deliberately shot his wife to collect a large life insurance policy and to end a marriage plagued by discord and money problems.

She contends that sheriff’s deputies and state Justice Department officials then conspired to destroy incriminating evidence, falsified reports and failed to obtain incriminating information against a fellow officer though it existed. The agencies conducted what amounted to a “non-investigation,” the lawsuit states.

“They could not have investigated the shooting in any more than a superficial way because their findings were determined the following day,” said Mike Madigan, an El Toro private investigator hired by the family. “They based their conclusions on the statements of one person, the shooter. I find that incredible given their investigative responsibilities.”

During his inquiry, Madigan said, he turned up several leads, such as serious marital and financial problems in the Clarke household, and that Robert Clarke quickly collected on a large life insurance policy. Grisanti estimated that that amount was about $200,000.

Madigan also questioned the circumstances surrounding the shooting. He said Yvonne Clarke never liked guns and refused to remain in the same room where a firearm was present. Robert Clarke’s normal practice, Madigan said, was to clean his pistol in a large downstairs den of their home, not in her tiny office.

“Frankly, it is always difficult to consider that a law enforcement officer with 20 years’ experience would clean his gun in area where an accident could occur,” Madigan said, adding that he gave his findings to the Sheriff’s Department, but nothing was ever done.