CHARLESTON – A Jackson County man alleges a county sheriff’s deputy used excessive force on him during the execution of a no-knock warrant.
Barry Merritt filed his complaint December 6 in federal court against Deputy Lucas Casto and the Jackson County Commission.
According to the complaint, the incident took place at Merritt’s home in Ripley on January 13, 2021. But the story began almost a year earlier when Casto stopped a vehicle in which Merritt was a passenger on January 26, 2020, because of a defective taillight. Casto found a marijuana joint on Merritt and placed him under arrest, transported him to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and released him from custody.
diTrapano
On January 11, 2021, Casto filed a criminal complaint in magistrate court charging Merritt with one count of misdemeanor possession of controlled substances. The magistrate found probable cause and issued a warrant.
On January 13, 2021, Casto and other deputies executed the warrant at Merritt’s home. Merritt says Casto and the others entered his home without knocking or otherwise warning of their entry.
Merritt says he was on a weekly phone call with a nurse practitioner from Westbrook Health Services when he heard noise in his living room. When he went to investigate, he says Casto and the others were there with guns drawn and pointed at him. He says the deputies told him to get on the ground and tackled him without allowing him a chance to comply.
He says the deputies roughly cuffed him and used unreasonable and excessive force, breaking several of his ribs and causing other injuries.
Merritt says the weekly call with the nurse practitioner is recorded, and he says that six-minute recording does not reveal any knocking or announcement by Casto or the other deputies. Also, he says neighbors who witnessed the incident didn’t see Casto or the others knock or announce prior to entry.
He says the Jackson County Commission had knowledge of a pattern of use of excessive force and threats by Casto but did nothing about it.
Merritt says his injuries include right-side rib fractures to five ribs, hemothorax, severe bullous emphysema and pneumothorax, all requiring an extended hospital stay and admission to a rehabilitation center.
He accuses Casto of excessive force and the Jackson County Commission of reckless conduct. He accuses all defendants of deprivation of rights and seeks a claim of outrage against all defendants.
Merritt seeks compensatory damages, punitive damges, special damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
He is being represented by Charles F. Bellomy and L. Dante diTrapano of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston and by William C. Forbes and W. Jesse Forbes of Forbes Law Offices in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 2:22-cv-00556