Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Lawsuit against sheriff dismissed
A $1 million lawsuit against Fauquier County Sheriff Charlie Ray Fox Jr. and several investigators from the sheriff's office has been dismissed.
Jeannette A. Mechem and her husband Duane C. Mechem, both of Culpeper, filed the suit in October 2006.
In an order filed April 7, U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Waugh Crigler granted the defendants motion for summary judgment [which had been filed March 14] and dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety.
He entered the order after attorneys made arguments in the case during a 90-minute hearing n the U.S. District for the Western District of Virginia, Roanoke Division on April 2.
It is unknown if the Mechems plan to appeal the decision. Their attorney, Lance Hale of the Roanoke-based law firm Lance M. Hale & Associates, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Point, counter-point
Duane C. Mechem has reportedly been investigated in connection with the 1998 death of Tammy Thorpe in Fauquier County.
The Mechems claimed Fauquier County investigators violated their rights while executing a search warrant at the couple's house as part of the investigation on October 19, 2004.
Specifically, the plaintiffs accused investigators of illegal search, illegal seizure, detention and confinement, and conspiracy.
They also sued the detectives for "malicious abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress," and Fox for "neglecting to prevent" or failure to train or supervise.
However, in the 36-page motion for summary judgment, the defendants' attorney James M. Bowling argued that the search warrant was valid and that the Mechems were never improperly detained.
Citing case law, he argue that a warrant implicitly carries the authority to detain the occupants of the premises while a search is conducted.
None of the defendants ever used physical force against the Mechems, Bowling said.
Bowling further argued that there "are no material facts supporting the claim of conspiracy," and "no material facts to support a claim for liability for failure to supervise or train."
Finally, Bowling argued that the Mechems' claims of abuse of process and intentional infliction of emotional distress should also be dismissed.
Nothing in the application for the search warrant or the execution of the warrant "would ever sustain such a claim," Bowling concluded.
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.