UPDATE 8/20/18: Our FaceBook post on the topic.
UPDATE 8/17/18: I obtained the Criminal Complaint from the incident. It is indeed signed by both the sheriff’s deputy who was the arresting officer, as well as the Summersville PD officer. It’s not a notarization, but it is a signature. While it doesn’t make sense as to why they did it that way, that process would be legal. The following is the full text of the narrative, which is sworn under oath as the probable cause basis for the arrest:
ON THE ABOVE DATE IN SUMMERSVILLE NICHOLAS COUNTY, WV, I CONDUCTED A TRAFFIC STOP ON A MAROON CHEVY COLORADO BEARING WV REG. XXXXXX FOR NO BRAKE LIGHTS. THE DRIVER WAS IDENTIFIED AS JEFFREY JONES. WHILE SPEAKING TO THE DRIVER I OBSERVED HIM TO BE DISORIENTED, DROWSINESS, CONFUSED, BLOOD SHOT EYES, AND HE DID HAVE SLURRED SPEECH. MY FIRST OBSERVATION HE WAS SWEATING PROFUSELY AND DID HAVE HIS HEAT ON IN HIS TRUCK. HE WAS ALSO FUMBLING HIS ITEMS AND DROPPING MONEY OUT OF HIS WALLET. I PERFORMED THE HGN TEST ON JEFFREY AND WHILE ADMINISTERING THIS TEST HE DID SHOW IMPAIRMENT. JEFFREY WAS TAKEN TO SRMC FOR A BLOOD DRAW. WHILE UNDER MIRANDA, JEFFREY DID ADMIT THAT HIS BROTHER KENNY HAD GIVEN HIM A PILL THAT HIS WIFE TAKES FOR ARTHRITIS AND PAIN. A DRE EVALUATION WAS DONE ON JEFFREY. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS COMPLAINT IS BASED ON THIS OFFICERS INVESTIGATION.
According to Mr. Jones’ brother, they picked his truck up later that same day/night at the local impound for the exorbitant sum of $350.00, and it was driven home, with a vehicle following behind. The brake lights worked just fine. The narrative included no allegations of improper driving. That means, the only basis for the stop was for a improper equipment violation which didn’t exist. In other words, it appears to be a lie. Without improper driving, what other information did this deputy have to want to stop Mr. Jones? The only information he had was the color of Mr. Jones’ skin. This is unfortunate, but not unheard of. The same basis was used to stop my client Antonio Tolliver. That state trooper is now a former state trooper.
What does that mean? If the State/Prosecutor can’t prove that the vehicle had no brake lights, in light of testimony and evidence from Mr. Jones’ family and friends that the car’s brake lights worked just fine, the stop will have been illegal. Under the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine, everything that happened subsequently, is inadmissible in court. Even assuming the blood draw was legal, which is a big “if,” and the supposed statement about the pill for arthritis and pain was legal, they cannot be used against Mr. Jones. The arrest, and everything which happened afterwards, is unconstitutional and illegal.
So he’s driving perfectly normal, gets pulled over for an equipment violation which doesn’t exist, gets put through field sobriety tests and supposedly fails. So why at that point didn’t they give him a breathalyzer? Instead they call Deputy Junk Science to arrive, who took a class on recognizing people who had taken prescription drugs? Then forcibly taken to a hospital and forcibly withdraw blood from his body? He was driving normally, and wasn’t bothering anyone. The only thing he did wrong was drive into a notorious speed trap, where officers are itching to pull over someone who looks like they’re coming down from one of the rust belt cities with a load of heroin. Which brings us back to racial profiling. It would be interesting to look at some of the other cases of stops on Route 19 in Summersville over the past few years.
Yesterday, WVVA ran a story about Jeffrey Jones, a man local to Greenbrier County, who had an unfortunate encounter with the police in Summersville, West Virginia – a place with the reputation as a well known speed trap extortion racket. As a disclaimer, I don’t represent him in any way, but I do know the man since he works at my local Kroger. He is the nicest guy, always smiling, and always helpful. Everyone loves him. What other grocery store employee has customers that take photos such as these?
These photos speak for themselves, which were posted on the WVVA website. From the article:
SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. (WVVA) Jeffrey Jones of Lewisburg is no stranger to hard knocks. As a child, he battled Spinal Meningitis, a condition that left him 90 percent deaf and with one leg longer than the other.
“Growing up, I had Meningitis. Everyone always thought I was stupid because I couldn’t hear. And because I was the smallest in the class, everyone picked on me.”
Despite the physical limitations, Jones said he never misses at day of work keeping track of the carts at the Ronceverte Kroger; the same place where his family said he was hit by a car a couple years ago and broke a hip.
“He stops and checks on everyone everywhere he goes,” said his friend Brianna Barkley. “There’s not a person that’s a stranger. He spreads happiness and friendship to everyone he sees.”
That job may be in jeopardy after Jones said he was unlawfully stopped by a Nicholas County Sheriff’s deputy on Sunday, August 5th, for a broken brake light. He was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI).
Then there was a phone call from a local legislator, to the Attorney General’s Office on his behalf:
Through his work at Kroger over the years, Jones has made friends from all walks of life, including Greenbrier County Del. Jeff Campbell, (D) 42nd Dist., who on Tuesday, personally requested the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office for an investigation.
“I would like to see the charges dismissed. I would like to see the $350 he spent to get his truck out of impound reimbursed. I think his wages should be reimbursed. And I’d like to see an apology.”
Oops. So the Summersville Chief of Police contacts the news station and makes a stunning denial:
UPDATE: Summersville Police Chief John Nowak said Thursday his officers did not participate in the arrest of Jeffrey Jones on Sunday, August 5th.
Although Patrolman R.L. McClung with the Summersville Police Dept. signed both pages of the criminal complaint, the chief said the officer merely notarized the document for the arresting officer, Deputy J.D. Ellison with the Nicholas County Sheriff’s Dept.
Ok, say what? Your officer “notarized” a criminal complaint? Here is a sample Criminal Complaint, which is actually a form provided by the West Virginia Supreme Court, from a recent case of mine (which resulted in a large settlement and an officer being fired):
ExampleCriminalComplaint
As you can see, there is no signature block for a “notarization.” Criminal Complaints, which are standardized forms meant to comply with state and federal constitutional requirements applicable to the process of putting a person temporarily behind bars, are signed by the “Complainant,” who is almost always a sworn law enforcement officer.
The Criminal Complaint notes that the complainant must be present in person before the Magistrate, who will authorize the arrest and subsequent incarceration, assuming the Magistrate believes probable cause exists based on the sworn written testimony/explanation offered by the Complainant/Police Officer.
In my 12 years of experience practicing law around the State of West Virginia, I have never heard of a police officer “notarizing” the Criminal Complaint of another police officer. And being a civil rights lawyer, I have examined probably thousands of Criminal Complaints. It would be understandable for one officer to draft and sign the complaint where there were multiple officers involved. They don’t all have to sign their name to the complaint. But I’ve never heard of another officer, from an entirely different agency, who wasn’t even present at the incident/arrest, to apply under oath for the signature of the Magistrate, which is effectively an arrest warrant. That would be hearsay, and would not establish probable cause. No competent Magistrate would sign such a Criminal Complaint. The only exception would be, if the Magistrate did not know because that fact was concealed.
I’m not posting Mr. Jones’ Criminal Complaint, but somebody has some explaining to do in Summersville. I wonder how many other arrests/tickets given by the county sheriff’s department were actually signed by a city police officer in Summersville, given their reputation as a well known speed trap extortion operation? Hmmm. Like all the old ways in West Virginia, it all comes down to money. Maybe when the legislature finishes cleaning up the Supreme Court mess, they can come follow this money trail in Summersville. I’m sure he isn’t the only victim – just one innocent enough to have people stand behind him.