Steve Snodgrass

Steve Snodgrass serves as Chief Financial Officer of Graniterock in Watsonville. This Watsonville-based company offers gravel, sand and concrete for road construction purposes as well as serving on multiple governmental and nonprofit boards. Additionally, Steve serves on various government committees.

Postal inspectors brought Snodgrass into a laundry room in his small apartment building; informed him they were conducting a search, and any interviews must be voluntary; then requested his signature waiving his Miranda rights.

Early Life and Education

Snodgrass was raised in West Virginia. He earned his high school diploma, working at Wal-Mart and trucking companies before serving on the board of Cabrillo College and performing charitable work throughout Monterey Bay area.

He and his wife have three children. He currently serves as co-managing principal for DeFrain Mayer’s Executive Search practice; in addition, he owns and coaches NCAA Division I student-athletes at his private indoor tennis facility.

Snodgrass claims his Fifth Amendment rights were violated when he was sentenced for possessing two forms of child pornography. Both counts 2 and 3 allege possession of a disk depicting Daphne, an eleven-year-old girl engaging in explicit sex acts.

Professional Career

Steve Snodgrass has extensive experience representing government contractors in audits and criminal and civil investigations relating to progress billing, material management, time charging, defective pricing and estimating fraud investigations. Additionally, he is widely sought-after by private companies in complex commercial litigation matters, including mergers and acquisitions.

Snodgrass claims his conviction should be overturned on grounds that law enforcement violated its own policies during “Operation Joint Hammer,” and counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to raise this protocol violation during trial. For example, law enforcement failed to follow-up within two weeks after sending Snodgrass an inventory of purported child pornography available for sale and conduct an “open and talk” investigation with him as was required under their policy.

Snodgrass Partners of Overland Park, Kansas specializes in executive searches, management consulting and alternative hiring solutions for clients across the nation. Most recently it introduced a tennis recruiting and consulting niche designed to connect NCAA Division I tennis programs, racquet clubs and resorts with coaches.

Achievement and Honors

Snodgrass’ academic achievements aside, he is also active as a volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County and KSBW’s Share Your Holiday campaigns. Additionally, he serves on both Pajaro Valley Health Trust and Cabrillo College Foundation boards of directors.

After graduating from Virginia Tech, Snodgrass worked at Douglas Aircraft in both their missile and battlefield weapon design groups. Later he joined Gould Inc. where he led their torpedoes and targets programs for California, Ohio, and Washington States respectively.

Literary critics were stunned when his first collection, Heart’s Needle, made waves for its careful formal control and solemn depiction of personal loss. Later works moved beyond these confessional themes by including multiple techniques to affect both subconscious and conscious minds simultaneously.

Personal Life

Snodgrass is married and the father of two. As well as being an author of poetry and literary criticism books, his book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong provides lessons in what makes a poem successful or less so by selecting and rewriting classic works in order to highlight their weaknesses.

Snodgrass was part of a legal team that successfully challenged Missouri teenager Angela Mischelle Lawless’s murder conviction and published The Murder of Angela Mischelle Lawless: An Inside Account by an Actual Convict as a memoir detailing this experience.

He requests a rehearing on Count 1 of his sentence and vacates those on Counts 2 and 3, on the grounds that his counsel was constitutionally ineffective for failing to challenge law enforcement’s violation of internal protocols during “Operation Joint Hammer.” To properly litigate his claims a fact-intensive analysis must take place as well as an additional sentencing hearing.

Net Worth

He has sold over 2 units of Heska stock over the past 16 years, according to filings with the SEC.

Snodgrass was a key member of Scotland’s under-19, under-20 and under-21 teams, competing at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and scoring his inaugural international goal on 7 June 2013 during a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Croatia.

DeFrain’s executive search practice as co-managing principal and former owner of an indoor tennis facility are both part of his extensive sports industry experience and business acumen, respectively. He’s also the proud parent of two NCAA student athletes, providing him with unique perspective. DeFrain is an invaluable addition to MBEP’s board as he will help our organization navigate its various opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.