Federal judge throws out suit that sought gold coins
Arizona Coin Collector
http://www.redding.com/news/2009/nov/08/federal-judge-throws-out-suit-that-sought-cold/
Federal judge throws out suit that sought gold coins
By Ryan Sabalow
Posted November 8, 2009 at midnight
A federal judge has thrown out a police brutality
suit originally filed by three Shasta County teens
who sought $6 million in gold coins.
At a hearing Thursday, U.S. Eastern District Judge
Craig M. Kellison dismissed the civil case filed in
October 2008 by Lillian Simonis, Hannah Moore and
Laura Lovett.
"They literally haven't done anything since they've
filed the complaint," Shasta County Counsel Michael
Ralston said Friday. "Which would lead one to
believe that it was a completely meritless complaint
to start off with, which it was."
Court records confirmed that the teens, who
represented themselves without an attorney, didn't
respond to the county's discovery requests, and they
didn't show up for at least one court appearance.
Since the original filing, Moore's name has been
removed from the suit. Lovett and Simonis couldn't
be reached Friday for comment. Their ages and
hometowns couldn't be confirmed.
The teens each turned 18 after the suit was filed,
according to court documents.
In their suit, the teens alleged that at 11:30 p.m.
April 22, Shasta County sheriff's deputies entered
a home on Silver Bridge Road in Palo Cedro where
several teens were sleeping.
"In one of the bedrooms, three 17-old-girls were
awakened by the commotion and, thinking they were
being robbed, attacked one intruder in the dark,"
the teens allege in a "citizen's complaint" filed
with the suit.
The girls alleged they were "brutalized" by the
deputies then who used "torture, threats and
insults" to subdue them.
Simonis, who was suffering from a head injury
incurred in a skateboarding accident several
weeks prior to the incident, alleged that deputies
repeatedly banged her into the floor during the
encounter.
The teens each sought $2 million in gold coins
to pay for the alleged civil rights violations.
In a letter to the teens included with the suit,
Assistant County Counsel John Loomis wrote that
Lovett was arrested on suspicion of two counts
of battery on a peace officer and a count of
resisting or obstructing a peace officer. Simonis
was arrested on suspicion of resisting or
obstructing an officer.
Loomis wrote that the deputies went to the home
after receiving a report that Simonis had
assaulted someone.
"In the course of the investigation, Lovett
became argumentative and subsequently kicked
two deputy sheriffs," Loomis wrote. "Simonis
interfered with the investigation ... by
attempting to walk away when told to sit and by
grabbing a (deputy's) jacket and trying to kick
the deputy sheriffs."
Though they were arrested, the teens alleged
they were never charged.
Reporter Ryan Sabalow can be reached at
225-8344 or at rsab...@redding.com
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