The Free Chewey Project was started as a dedication to uncovering the truth that has been buried for thirteen years. The truth about the injustice of John “Chewey” Granges trial for the murder of two informants who were actively working with the DEA at the time of their death’s, in rural Northeastern Washington, June 2000, just a stones throw from Canada.
Farmers, homesteaders, gypsy travelers, hippies, musicians and artists make up the core of the Barter Faires of Eastern Washington. Cultural gatherings that still occur to this day. Bartering homegrown produce, fruit from local orchards and flea market goods that would be paradise for any thrifter, yardsaler or collector make up the booths of vendors. Anything you can think of you will find at the Barter Faire…ethnic food, decadent treats and desserts, wood crafts, wildcrafted treasures and drum circles that don’t stop until sunrise. These harvest celebrations enliven, bring joy and social exchange to rural people. The mix of rural families and city folk with roots from all over the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies creates lasting memories, tales and campfire escapades.
This community was shaken, shocked, scared. The brutal killings of two out of town kids, who were friends to many in the community in this quiet neck of the woods was unheard of. It rattled the town, the countryside, and undoubtedly the DEA who was relying on Nick “Echo” Kaiser and Josh Schaefer’s well being as important assets in cases they were cultivating. What went wrong and how did this happen? The answers we find in the information has led to many unanswered questions and began a quest for a supportive open minded community to reexamine the facts in a new light.
Chewey was accused and framed for being the “trigger man” who committed the murders of these two young men by his two friends Dane Williams and Jeffrey Cunningham. Both Williams and Cunningham admitted on the stand to being at the cabin when and where the murders supposedly occurred and admitted they helped burn the bodies inside Kaiser’s Ford Bronco. While these two men, in testimony, put themselves in the middle of the crime, Chewey still maintains his truth, he was at the Barter Faire that drizzly Sunday during the 6 hour window when Jeff and Dane claim the murders took place. He was no murderer or even a witness to the events of that day. His arrest created a personal struggle with how to prove a negative against a purely false conviction framed by his co-defendants. This innocent prisoner’s dilemma in action is the obstacle we work to overcome.
We know the truth is out there and it can set Chewey free. We search for answers to relieve him of a 63 year life sentence for a crime he did not commit.