WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) — A federal jury in Tennessee has sided with a Texas sheriff and his deputy in a lawsuit that alleged civil rights violations, according to a news release from the Wichita County district attorney.
The jury in Chattanooga found that Sheriff David Duke and Chief Deputy Alan Boyd had not violated the civil rights or abused the process when it issued an arrest warrant for Donna Johnson.
The trial took place in Tennessee because Johnson was arrested there in 2011.
Johnson allegedly took payment for photos she had taken but not delivered to the sheriff’s office in 2011. She sued, saying she was arrested without probable cause.
Defense attorneys characterized Johnson as a scam artist, making thousands from law enforcement agencies from New York to Texas.
“It’s time to send her home empty handed,” defense attorney Jerry Tidwell told jurors. “Put an end to her hustle.”
Johnson’s attorney, John Anderson, said the sheriff’s office did not have enough information for probable cause on the day his client was arrested.
“What you won’t find in this file is when they had the information,” he told jurors. “…Either there was a rush to judgment and they were sloppy in this file, or that was standard procedure at the Wichita County Sheriff’s Office.”
Information about a criminal case against Johnson was not available Saturday.
Jurors returned their verdict after deliberating for about 70 minutes.
