Carroccia v. Anderson

Decision Date11 March 2003
Docket NumberNo. 02 C 3916.,02 C 3916.
PartiesJohn CARROCCIA, Plaintiff, v. Michael ANDERSON; Tom Bumgarner; Ronald Malloy; Tom Atkinson; John Rogula; Kane County, Illinois; and Village of Hampshire, Illinois, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

Thomas Day Decker, Thomas D. Decker & Associates, Ltd., Chicago Bar Ass'n, Chicago, IL, Paul Augustus Wagner, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff.

Joseph F. Lulves, Elizabeth K. Flood, Kane County State's Attorney's Office, Geneva, IL, James Gus Sotos, Michael D. Bersani, John J. Timbo, Hervas, Sotos, Condon & Bersani, Itasca, IL, Paul Augusta Wagner, Chicago, IL, Steven M. Puiszis, Robert Thomas Shannon, James Constantine Vlahakis, Corinne D. Cantwell, Hinshaw & Culbertson, Chicago, IL, William W. Kurnik, Knight, Hoppe, Kurnik & Knight, LLC, Des Plaines, IL, Terry A. Ekl, Patrick Laurence Provenzale, Connolly, Ekl & Williams, P.C., Clarendon Hills, IL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

KENNELLY, District Judge.

John Carroccia was arrested and charged with the murder of Gregory Sears, a Sergeant in the Hampshire, Illinois Police Department. He was tried and acquitted. Carroccia now brings suit in this Court seeking redress for violations of his constitutional rights that he claims occurred during the police investigation of Sears' murder and his trial for that crime. Carroccia asserts claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law against Hampshire police officers Thomas Atchison and Ronald Malloy; Kane County Sheriffs Office investigators Michael Anderson and Tom Bumgarner; John Rogula, a prosecution witness during the murder trial; Kane County; and the Village of Hampshire. Defendants have moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

Plaintiffs allegations

The relevant facts alleged in Carroccia's amended complaint, and regarded as true for purposes of this motion, Thompson v. Illinois Dep't of Prof I Regulation, 300 F.3d 750, 753 (7th Cir.2002), are as follows. On June 1, 2000, John Carroccia was fifty years old. He had no record of felony arrests or convictions. Carroccia and Gregory Sears, a Sergeant of the Hampshire Police Department, had grown up and attended school together in Marengo, Illinois, and they were close friends.

Around 8:45 p.m. on June 1, 2000, Sears was shot and killed near U.S. Highway 20 in Hampshire, Illinois. Am. Cplt. ¶¶10, 11. Sears was on duty at the time, and he had walked about fifteen feet away from his marked police car which was left parked on the shoulder of the road. Id. ¶10. Four persons working about 475 feet away from the shooting heard gunshots and saw the outline of Sears' police car but did not see Sears. Id. ¶12. Around 11:00 p.m., two of the workers investigated the scene, discovered Sears' body, and reported his death to the police. Id. ¶ 13. Within about ten minutes of the murder and for the rest of the night, Carroccia was in his home, about a fortyminute drive from the murder scene. Id. ¶ 14. Carroccia alleges that he had nothing to do with the murder and that he first learned of it the next day. Id. ¶ 15.

The Kane County Sheriffs Office and the Hampshire Police began their murder investigation on the evening of June 1, 2000, shortly after the crime was reported. Id. ¶17. At about 11:45 p.m., defendant Bumgarner interviewed the victim's wife, Norma Jean Sears. Id. ¶25. Though Mrs. Sears had a history of psychiatric treatment, owned several unregistered handguns, and stood to benefit financially from her husband's death, Bumgarner did not inquire into her possible involvement in the crime. Id. ¶ 25. Instead, Bumgarner sought Mrs. Sears' speculation as to other possible perpetrators. Id. His inquiries yielded the names of several Hampshire police officers, including defendant Malloy, but Carroccia's name was not mentioned. Id. The next day, however, Officer Malloy falsely identified Carroccia as a potential suspect, telling investigative officers that Carroccia was a habitual traffic law offender and that he disliked Sears, and Malloy left the officers with the impression that Carroccia had threatened Sears. Id. ¶ 27. Later, Mrs. Sears falsely confirmed that there was friction between her husband and Carroccia, and she speculated that Carroccia was the murderer. Id. ¶ 28.

Sometime on June 2, 2000, Bumgarner and other police officers interviewed John Rogula, one of the workers who had heard the gunshots and discovered Sears' body. Though the Hampshire Police Department earlier had issued a press release identifying a "dark colored SUV" as a possible getaway car, Mr. Rogula was shown photographs of only one vehicle, Carroccia's van, which did not resemble the vehicle described in the press release. Id. ¶29. Rogula told police that the van "looked the same as" the vehicle at the murder scene: it was a full-sized, maroon-colored vehicle manufactured between 1987 and 1991. Id. ¶ 30. Despite poor visibility due to darkness, rain, and the considerable distance between the area where Rogula worked and the scene of the murder, Rogula also provided police with a description of the van's driver that resembled Carroccia. Id. ¶ 31. The interrogating officers did not determine whether Rogula's identification could be corroborated by his co-workers. Id. ¶ 33. Carroccia alleges that the officers relied on Rogula's statements as evidence against Carroccia notwithstanding Rogula's criminal history and his known willingness to accuse others of crimes in return for favorable treatment. Id. On the evening of June 2, 2000, without a warrant, and fewer than twenty-four hours after the crime had taken place, the police arrested Carroccia for Sears' murder. Id. ¶ ¶ 35-36.

After the arrest, police and investigators interviewed Carroccia for about two hours. Id. ¶43. Carroccia answered his interrogators' questions and denied that he had shot Sears. Id. Officer Anderson's report of the interrogation, however, misrepresented certain of Carroccia's responses, making them appear suspicious or incriminating. Id. ¶44. On June 3, 2000, police officers and sheriffs office investigators conducted a search of Carroccia's home and vehicles. Id. ¶45. Lacking probable cause for the search, the officers obtained a warrant by submitting false information in the warrant affidavit. Id. No incriminating evidence was found in the search, but the officers destroyed some of Carroccia's property. Though the officers had keys to Carroccia's house, they entered his residence forcibly, causing several thousand dollars worth of damage. Id. ¶ 47.

Carroccia alleges that when the defendants provided the prosecutors with the results of their investigation, they concealed evidence tending to exculpate Carroccia. Id. ¶ 14. Principally, they did not advise the prosecutors that Mrs. Sears had a flawed alibi, that she did not have a normal reaction upon hearing of her husband's murder, that she had a large financial stake in her husband's death, and that she possessed firearms that she claimed to have used. Id. ¶42. They also failed to disclose the circumstances of Rogula's allegedly flawed photo identification of Carroccia's car. Am. Cplt. ¶38. Accepting as true the misleading and incomplete information provided by the defendants, on June 20, 2000, prosecutors presented the evidence to a grand jury, which indicted Carroccia for two counts of murder. Id. ¶ 48. After a jury trial in March 2002, he was acquitted on both counts.

Based on these allegations, Carroccia seeks to recover for wrongful prosecution and a series of related injuries. He has framed his actions against the defendants under federal and state law, asserting substantive claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Counts 1-5), conspiracy claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 (Count 6), and Illinois state law claims for false arrest and malicious prosecution (Count 7), conspiracy (Count 8), and intentional infliction of emotional distress (Count 9). Pursuant to 745 ILCS 10/9-102, Carroccia also seeks indemnification from Kane County and the Village of Hampshire for all torts allegedly carried out by their officers and investigators within the scope of their employment (Counts 10 and 11). Defendants Anderson and Bumgarner move to dismiss Counts 2-8. Defendants Malloy, Atchison and the Village of Hampshire move to dismiss Counts 1-9 and Count 11.

Discussion

In their combined motions, defendants seek to dismiss all but one count of Carroccia's amended complaint. We will consider each count in turn, beginning with Carroccia's federal claims, which supply the basis of our jurisdiction over the case. In considering defendants' motions, we accept as true all facts alleged by Carroccia and draw reasonable inferences in his favor. Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984); Thompson, 300 F.3d at 753.

I. Count 1 (§ 1983 False Arrest)

In Count 1 of the amended complaint, Carroccia asserts a claim for false arrest under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleges that Anderson, Bumgarner, Atchison and Malloy willfully violated his Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by arresting him without probable cause. Atchison and Malloy move to dismiss this claim or, alternatively, to limit its scope. They first contend that Carroccia's allegations are too general, arguing that he fails to allege facts that would suggest that either defendant participated in or directed Carroccia's arrest. But Carroccia is entitled to plead "the bare minimum facts necessary to put the defendant on notice of the claim so that he can file an answer," Higgs v. Carver, 286 F.3d 437, 439 (7th Cir.2002), and his allegations are sufficient to state a claim against Malloy and Atchison. Carroccia alleges that "Sheriffs employees and others arrested John Carroccia for murder," and that defendants "well knew" that "probable cause did not exist." Am. Cplt. ¶35. Elsewhere in the amended complaint, Malloy and Atchison are identified by name and are alleged to...

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