El v. City of Euclid, CASE NO: 1:16CV2160
| Court | United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Court of Northern District of Ohio |
| Writing for the Court | MAGISTRATE JUDGE JONATHAN D. GREENBERG |
| Parties | LONNIE BRAY EL, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF EUCLID, Defendant. |
| Docket Number | CASE NO: 1:16CV2160 |
| Decision Date | 26 June 2017 |
LONNIE BRAY EL, Plaintiff,
v.
CITY OF EUCLID, Defendant.
CASE NO: 1:16CV2160
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
June 26, 2017
MAGISTRATE JUDGE JONATHAN D. GREENBERG
MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER
Currently pending before the Court is Defendant City of Euclid's "Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings."1 (Doc. No. 16.) Plaintiff Lonnie Bray El, proceeding pro se, filed a Brief in Opposition on January 31, 2017, to which Defendant replied. (Doc. No. 20, 21.)
For the following reasons, Defendant's Motion (Doc. No. 16) is GRANTED as follows. Plaintiff's federal claims are dismissed with prejudice. The Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff's state law claims and, therefore, those claims are dismissed without prejudice.
On August 29, 2016, Plaintiff Lonnie Bray El ("Plaintiff" or "Bray El") filed a pro se Complaint against Defendant City of Euclid alleging numerous state and federal claims arising from his arrest, detention, and prosecution for various drug charges. (Doc. No. 1.) Defendant
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City of Euclid filed an Answer on October 25, 2016. (Doc. No. 8.) A case management conference was thereafter conducted on November 22, 2016, at which time case management deadlines were set. (Doc. No. 13.)
On December 20, 2016, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint, again naming only the City of Euclid as a Defendant. (Doc. No. 15.) The Amended Complaint asserts the following federal and state law causes of action: (1) violation of Plaintiff's civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments; (2) abuse of process; (3) malicious prosecution; (4) conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 241; (5) tampering with evidence; (6) unlawful restraint; (7) fraud; (8) falsification of evidence; (9) obstruction of justice; (10) dereliction of duty; (11) interference with civil rights; (12) organizational criminal liability; (13) giving false or fictitious information to law enforcement agents; (14) sham legal process; and (15) violations of "The Rights of Indigenous Peoples." (Id.)
On January 3, 2017, Defendant filed a "Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings." (Doc. No. 16.) Plaintiff filed a Brief in Opposition on January 31, 2017, to which Defendant replied on February 21, 2017. (Doc. Nos. 20, 21.) Subsequently, on March 7, 2017, Plaintiff filed an Affidavit in which he averred that "The City of Euclid, a local municipality, conspired against Federally-secured Rights and did in doing so harm Me, for which The City of Euclid may grant Me relief in the amount of $3,082,000 USD and be bonded against me taking further actions what so ever in this matter." (Doc. No. 22.)
The Amended Complaint contains the following factual allegations.
On the morning of July 11, 2014, Plaintiff drove his friend George DeLuca to the Extra
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Space Storage facility in Euclid, Ohio to "help him lift something." (Doc. No. 15 at ¶ 7.) Plaintiff describes the events that occurred that day as follows:
At approximately 9:40 AM, as George Deluca and I approached the Extra Space Storage located at 23640 Lakeland Boulevard, Euclid, Ohio 44132, I noticed police activity, several police cars, a number of patrolmen, and a number of K-9 units blocking the entrance and exit. George Deluca assured me that the police were not there for him and I trusted him, yet, was unable to slow, or to stop, because within that section of Lakeland Boulevard, there is no shoulder and traffic is faster, because most of it relates to State Route 2/I90, and has higher posted speed limits than surrounding areas. We circled a couple of times until, finally, I asked, "Are you sure you want me to pull up in here [The Extra Space Storage in question]?" George Deluca said, "Sure, why not?" I did. Then for approximately three minutes, we sat parked without exiting and the windows up. Then I decided to leave. I pressed the brake peddle, shifted to reverse gear, then City of Euclid employees emerged with weapons drawn and shouting demands, then, searched and seized me and my property. . .
(Id.)
Plaintiff and Mr. DeLuca were arrested by Euclid police officers, detained for approximately five and a half hours, and questioned. (Id. at ¶ 8.) At this time, Plaintiff was advised the Euclid police had been alerted that a box containing marijuana had been sent to Mr. DeLuca's storage unit.2 (Id.) Plaintiff was told the box had been shipped from Auburn, California with a shipping label that referenced Plaintiff's company, Angel Touch Films. (Id. at ¶ 9.) Plaintiff was "straight released" without bail or charge. (Id. at ¶ 8.) Euclid police seized his van, cell phone, and cash. (Id.)
Plaintiff thereafter left Ohio in November 2014 to travel for film and acting work in Florida; Hollywood, Los Angeles, and Compton, California; and Mazatlan and Mexico City,
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Mexico. (Id. at ¶ 12.) On December 10, 2014, while Plaintiff was out of state, Plaintiff and Mr. DeLuca were indicted by a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury on the following five counts stemming from the July 11, 2014 incident: (1) trafficking in violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.03(A)(2) (Count One); (2) drug possession in violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 2925.11(A) (Count Two); (3) trafficking in violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 2925.03(A)(2) (Count Three); (4) drug possession in violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 2925.11(A) (Count Four); and (5) possessing criminal tools in violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.24(A) (Count Five). (Id. at ¶ 6, 19-25.) See State v. Bray El, Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No. 14-591557. Each of these counts contained several forfeiture specifications. (Id.)
Plaintiff states that "[o]n December 24, 2014, when it was known that I was not in Ohio, a warrant arrived to my mailing address, was signed for by a family member, then tossed in a heap of mail that sat and got lost, and I never knew about it."3 (Id. at ¶ 27.) On August 12, 2015, while Plaintiff was in Mexico, he went to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City seeking help with a passport issue. (Id. at ¶¶ 12, 27.) He was instead immediately deported to Los Angeles as a result of the outstanding warrant issued in his criminal case. (Id.) Plaintiff asserts that, when he was deported, he was forced to leave behind all his personal property. (Id.)
Plaintiff was thereafter detained in the Los Angeles County Jail from August 12, 2015 until approximately September 1, 2015. (Id. at ¶ 12.) During this time, Plaintiff claims he was
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"forced to use toilets positioned under a surveillance camera that is monitored by females;" "forced to bunk on triple bunk beds, on which were impossible to sit up, like I was part of a sandwich;" and placed into close contact with "men from foot to ears, eyelids, faces, and bald heads covered in tattoos representing magic, cultural affiliation, and method of gaining gang entry, either through vicious and heinous murder or homosexual act with the leader." (Id. at ¶ 68.) Plaintiff claims he was frightened and stressed and, further, that he continues to suffer from stress as a result of this experience. (Id.)
On or about September 1, 2014, Plaintiff was transported from the Los Angeles County Jail to the Cuyahoga County Jail in a van operated by Prisoner Transportation Services. (Id. at ¶ 12, 28.) Plaintiff claims he was mistreated during the van ride as follows:
During seizure, Prisoner Transportation Services agents forced me to suffer and endure days of 100 degree Fahrenheit temperatures through California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona in a van with a broken air-conditioner, nights of cold without a blanket, and continuously banging my head on the transport van's exposed and jagged metal, as my combined length from torso to head exceeds the van's distance from seat to ceiling and at least one Prisoner Transport agent drove so recklessly that police twice pulled him over for speeding, and once cited him. Also, I was and continue to be tormented by the inhumane treatment of other male and female detainees at the hands of Prisoner Transportation Services agents, such as being refused the ability to lay down for three days and nights, being forced to urinate, defecate, and vomit in plastic bags, then have me inhale the aromas from such for hours. A spider bite caused paralysis, nausea, pain, and rapid flesh deterioration to one detainee. He was dying. He had to be taken to the hospital. Then, against doctor's orders, Prison Transportation Services agents forced the detainee out of a hospital and back into the oven of a van.
(Id. at ¶ 28.)
Plaintiff was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Jail and detained there until December 4, 2015. (Id. at ¶ 12.) He claims "Cuyahoga County employees forced me to undergo a medical procedure in the form a tuberculosis shot, which I did not want; yet, reluctantly accepted at
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Cuyahoga County employee threats of solitary confinement for an unknown amount of time if I did not accept the shot." (Id. at ¶ 29.) Plaintiff also asserts that, while detained in the Cuyahoga County Jail, "a spider bit me that became infected, became extremely painful for weeks, stressed me out wondering how much more I had to endure, would I end up like the other detainee, and the experience has left me suffering from permanent scar tissue, and spider-related issues that cause me stress and anxiety." (Id. at ¶ 32.)
Plaintiff claims he was released on bond on or about December 4, 2015. (Id. at ¶ 12.) He was monitored via ankle bracelet from December 4th until December 14th 2015, "all without my consent." (Id.) On December 14, 2015, all charges against Plaintiff were dismissed without prejudice at the request of the prosecutor. See State v. Bray El, Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No. 14-591557. The state trial court ordered the Euclid Police Department to return to Plaintiff "all money and property" that had been seized from him.4 (Id.)
Under Fed. R. Civ. P....
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