Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prisoners File 11 Lawsuits Against Sheriff

By JOHN MILLER

Eleven federal lawsuits have been filed against Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell from prisoners in the Nevada County Jail.

No suits were filed against former Nevada County Sheriff Harold Vines, nor Abb Morman, at the Federal Courthouse in Texarkana.

Two of the cases against Otwell, though, have been dismissed.

According to records, Jeffery Means sued Otwell for false imprisonment.

He claimed he was paroled from the Arkansas Department of Corrections and sent to Minneapolis, Minn. where misdemeanor charges were pending against him.

Once these charges were filed, Means was returned to Arkansas where his parole was revoked.

Means claimed he should have been in Minnesota where the charges were filed and where his parole officer was. However, no trial was held in the case.

James Miller's case is also closed with no trial held.

Miller was stopped by Arkansas State Trooper Tim Land on Feb. 23, 1997.

Records show Miller was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Mike Alexander. Others in the vehicle were James Giles and Damon Albert.

Land smelled the odor of alcohol and burned marijuana after the stop was made. The report states all passengers in the vehicle smelled of alcohol and burned marijuana.

A search of the vehicle turned up marijuana and cocaine in a pouch on the back of the driver's side seat.

Alexander was charged with driving while under the influence.

Miller, though, claimed he should not have been arrested as he was just a passenger in the vehicle.

However, the case filed by Walter Nevils on May 30, 1997, involves the lack of medical treatment.

Nevils sued saying he was arrested March 20 and tried to get medical attention since March 23, but could not get the sheriff to have him taken to see a doctor, or give him aspirin for a headache.

Nevils claims to have gotten involved in an altercation with another inmate, which resulted in a broken finger and sprains of the back and foot.

According to his claim, it took six-and-a-half hours for him to get any attention after making the report.

He also said he received no pain medication for his hand on May 13.

A suit filed by Zack Lessie also alleges not getting medical attention.

Lessie's suit states he was arrested Feb. 2, 1997, for criminal trespass and burglary. He reportedly informed officials at the NCSO he was diabetic and couldn't eat what they were preparing for the inmates.

His suit alleges no efforts were made to correct this situation.

Lessie claims to have fainted and been taken to the emergency room at Medical Park Hospital, where they said his blood sugar was low.

He also claims he was not arraigned within 72 hours of his arrest and the arrest resulted in the loss of SSI benefits.

Charles Tolliver, who was arrested for selling crack cocaine, is suing because of claims he was denied counsel, not read his miranda rights, had all pre-trial motions denied and was not given proper due process under the law.

Tolliver's suit also charges he was falsely imprisoned, an illegal search and seizure was done when he was arrested and he had to testify against himself.

Additionally, Tolliver claims he went to a doctor for high blood pressure problems and chest pains on June 10. His blood pressure reading at the time was 160/100.

He was given a prescription and told to come back in a week. However, he claims this never happened and he never went back to see a doctor.

Tolliver claims an emergency medical technician with the Nevada County Ambulance Service checked his blood pressure on June 24, with the reading being 173/70.

His case is still pending.

Another pending case was filed by Milton Ballance, who was arrested June 24, 1997, for failure to pay child support.

Ballance also claims he was not given proper medical treatment when needed.

According to his suit, he was taken to St. Michael Hospital in Texarkana for surgery on his hand. The surgery was scheduled for 2:45 p.m., but wasn't performed until 9 o'clock.

The next day, his suit states, there was no deputy on hand to bring him back to the Nevada County jail, so he called someone to take him home.

The Hempstead County Sheriff's Office was notified to pick Ballance up as he lived in that county. According to the suit, the HCSO was told he escaped from the hospital and needed to be picked up for the NCSO.

He was returned to Prescott on June 27 with stitches in his hand, the suit alleges. It also states his hand was not wrapped to keep clean and he was given no pain medication, though he requested it daily.

Nevils brought a second suit against the NCSO, with the second one filed Aug. 1, 1997, again claiming medical negligence.

This suit states Nevils was injured in a fight while he was an inmate at the Nevada County jail.

He claims he was in the yard when another inmate came to the booking area. Nevils said he asked the other inmate a question and was told the other inmate didn't feel like hearing it.

This led to a verbal altercation, with Nevils' suit stating he tried to talk his way out of the situation.

But, the suit states, the other inmate came into the yard and attacked him.

The two reportedly wrestled around until Nevils lost his balance because of the shower shoes he was wearing. The other inmate fell on top of him, resulting in a broken finger and injury to his back, along with a sprained foot.

His suit also alleges a request for a law manual was ignored and the food was not properly cooked.

On the issue of the food, Nevils' suit states the inmates were served chicken wings for lunch on May 31, but the chicken was only half cooked.

No complaint was made at this time, but chicken wings were also served that night for dinner. Nevils complained at this time and allegedly was told he could have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The chicken was reportedly taken away, but it was two hours later before he was given a peanut butter sandwich to eat.

The final two suits filed against Otwell were identical -- literally.

Charles Ross and Dionko Horton both filed suits claiming they were not given medical treatment.

Each states their feet were hurting, peeling and cracking. The suits state the two asked to see a doctor, but were told they didn't need to.

Neither received medical attention, according to the suits, until June 5, after complaining since May 24.

Each inmate is seeking $50,000 compensation for pain and suffering.

Cases filed against Otwell by Nathanial Confron and Roy Laws could not be found by court personnel, though they were on record at the federal courthouse computer system.

All 11 cases filed were filed under the 1983 prisoner civil rights violation act.

Otwell could not be reached for a response as of press time.