A Mexican man filed a multi-million dollar federal lawsuit against the city of Tulsa alleging that his civil rights were violated in a drug case in which he claims that police fabricated evidence and stole money from him.
Hugo Alberto Gutierrez claims in the lawsuit that then-Tulsa Police Officer John K. "J.J." Gray provided false information in a search warrant affidavit that led to his conviction on drug charges and that Gray and three other officers stole at least $10,000 from him.
"The city of Tulsa knew and/or should have known of multiple previous occasions when defendant Gray fabricated evidence or was disciplined while acting as a Tulsa police officer," he alleges in the lawsuit.
Gutierrez, 37, also alleges that the city "had and has a policy and custom of failing or refusing to properly train, supervise and discipline its officers for misconduct. This created an atmosphere within the Tulsa Police Department of police officers being able to routinely and frequently violate the statutory and constitutional rights of citizens, without fear of discipline or firing."
During the investigation of police corruption, the lawsuit says, Gray admitted May 11, 2010, that he falsified information on an affidavit used to secure a search warrant of Gutierrez's residence in the 1200 block of North Rockford Avenue. Gray admitted falsely swearing on the affidavit that a confidential informant accepted delivery of marijuana from Gutierrez at Gutierrez's residence, the complaint says.
Gray claimed that Gutierrez and the informant actually met at a different location, according to the lawsuit. Gray also admitted that during the execution of the search warrant, he and three other officers stole at least $10,000 from Gutierrez and split the funds, the lawsuit alleges.
Gray, who is named as one of four individual defendants in Gutierrez's newly filed civil suit, pleaded guilty in June 2010 to a theft of public money charge and was sentenced to four months in prison, a punishment he has served.
He retired in May 2010 from the Tulsa Police Department. At least 11 lawsuits have been filed against the city and individual officers as a result of the police corruption investigation. The complaint filed Tuesday says that, even after the July 2010 order that threw out his conviction, Gutierrez still was held in custody as a prospective material witness in the criminal prosecution of Tulsa police officers while he awaited deportation proceedings.
Attorney Mark Lyons, representing Gutierrez in the civil suit, said he believes that his client is now in Mexico. The lawsuits At least 11 lawsuits have been filed against the city and individual police officers as a result of the police corruption investigation: Marvin L. Barber: He was sentenced in December 2007 to 17 1/2 years in prison for drug and firearms crimes.
His conviction was vacated in August 2010. His lawsuit names former Officer Jeff Henderson, Officer Bill Yelton, former Police Chief Ron Palmer and the city as defendants.
Larry Wayne Barnes Sr. and Larita Annette Barnes:The Barneses were convicted of selling drugs and were sentenced to federal prison. After they had served more than a year each, they were freed in 2009 after an informant said he had worked with Henderson and former ATF Agent Brandon McFadden to frame them.
Dustin Eastom: He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison in February 2008. He was freed from prison Sept. 7, 2010, after his drug conviction was set aside.
Hugo Alberto Gutierrez: He was sentenced in July 2008 to seven years and three months in prison after pleading guilty in April 2008 to possessing methamphetamine while intending to distribute it. His conviction was overturned and dismissed on July 30, 2010. His lawsuit names former Tulsa police officers John K. "J.J." Gray, Callison Kaiser and Eric Hill, former Tulsa Police Cpl. Harold Wells and the city of Tulsa as defendants.
Bobby Wayne Haley Sr.: He was convicted in September 2005 on drug and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. His conviction was vacated, and he was released in May 2010. He sued the city June 3, 2010.
Demario T. Harris: He was convicted of drug and firearms crimes in April 2005 and was sentenced to life in prison. He served seven years before being freed Oct. 28, 2010. His lawsuit names Henderson, Yelton and the city as defendants.
William Eli Kinnard Jr.: He claims that police officers falsified documents to obtain a warrant to search his home. His lawsuit names the city and two officers as defendants.
Patrick Neil London: He served 435 days in jail before a judge dismissed his drug case after determining that police had lied about the facts of his arrest. The city has been dismissed from the lawsuit.
Juan Antonio Mata Jr.: He was convicted in a drug case, but the probe into police corruption cast doubt on the legality of his arrest. His lawsuit names Henderson, McFadden, the city of Tulsa and the ATF as defendants.
DeMarco Williams: He was convicted of drug charges in 2008 and received two life sentences. The sentences were overturned, and he was freed from federal prison in April 2010.
David Harper 918-581-8359 a class="ArticleLink" href="mailto:[email protected]"[email protected]
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