A McDonald County jail inmate's lawsuit against former Sheriff Robert Evenson and deputy Michelle Amos, among others was dismissed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
According to court documents, William Shane Poole did not correct technical problems in his petition, even after being given an extension from Jan. 12 to Feb. 4 to do so.
U. S. District Judge Gary Fenner dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning Poole can file it again.
In the lawsuit, which was filed Dec. 21, Poole asked for an audit of the prison commissary, claiming that money is missing from inmate accounts.
He said prison officials did not allow him to receive much-needed medication, causing him to have seizures and forcing his hospitalization. Poole says he filled out a postage request form to send a letter to the circuit clerk, but it was "brought back and torn up in front of me by Michelle Amos."
Lt. Amos also ignored staff memos to provide Poole with his medication, he claimed.
Poole also sent in grievance forms filled out by he and two other prisoners, all of which he indicates were corrected by Lt. Amos, though the deputy's signature on the forms is virtually illegible. In one dated Dec. 12, 2003, she denied a request by Poole to use the canteen and to see the sheriff, scolding him for not spelling using and sheriff correctly. Someone should have gone over her work since she wrote, "Peroids and commas need to correctly," then with a flourish, added, "Denied- ask your lawyer."
Another Poole grievance, dated Dec. 4, was returned with an "F" grade and "-50" written on it. Poole was complaining about a deputy not giving him soap to shower with and being disrespectful toward him, even though Poole was told if he wouldn't play with the soap he could probably have some.
On the same day, inmate Don Barkfelt also received an F, according to a copy of a grievance form entered into Poole's petition. Barkfelt wrote, "Was refused soap to take a shower and was very out of line with his language with us this morning." Lt. Amos replied, "Great story and introduction, but need and ending to this story."
The third grievance filed over the soap situation, submitted by Joe Darryl Andrews, was also graded F. "English helps" and "sentence doesn't make sense" were written on the grievance form. "Please rewrite the request so it can be read and written correctly."
Poole claims that when he filled out a form to file his lawsuit, it was torn to pieces in front of him by Lt. Amos. "(She) smiled at me as she tore up another sheet of paper that had dates and times on it. I did keep one sheet and that is the information that I am sending you to keep secure," Poole wrote.
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The attorney for former Newton County inmate Oscar Alvarez is asking for a jury trial in his lawsuit against former Sheriff Ron Doerge. In documents filed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Steven J. Blair, Alvarez' attorney, asked for the jury trial in their case against Doerge, who they claim was in charge of two jailers who allegedly permitted him to be beaten.
In the lawsuit, filed Nov. 22 in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missori, Alvarez claimed that on Feb. 22, 2004, jailers Adam Brandon Babbitt and Shane Steven Smith, arranged for his brutal beating at the hands of another prisoner. He says that since the two men were working for Doerge, that Doerge is ultimately responsible for their actions.
In the response to the complaint, Kristen Baird Roubal, attorney for former Newton County Sheriff Ron Doerge and the Sheriff's Department, claimed it did not happen and, if it did, it was against Sheriff Doerge's policy.
The claim that it did not happen comes despite Doerge's firing of the two deputies because of their involvement in the incident.
The two former deputies were charged with misdemeanor third degree assault, then later the charges were amended to felonies.
As revealed earlier this week in The Turner Report, Doerge may have ignored evidence that could have cleared the two jailers and saved himself from this most recent lawsuit.
This evidence included an affidavit signed by another Cell Block A inmate saying Alvarez and another inmate had concocted a plan to have Alvarez beaten to prevent him from being deported. At the time, Alvarez was facing a felony charge of non-support which, if he had been convicted, would have been enough to have forced him to leave the United States.
It appears that the sheriff only accepted the word of four inmates, including Alvarez and the man who beat him that the cameras were turned off, although there was no other evidence that that was what had happened.
More information on the latest developments in the Doerge-Alvarez case was featured earlier this week in The Turner Report.