Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio Faces Lawsuit For Targeting The Son Of A U.S. Senator In A Trumped-Up Criminal Case

[Joel]

Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio Faces Lawsuit For Targeting The Son Of A U.S. Senator In A Trumped-Up Criminal Case

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio may be a favorite in Trumpland, but he’s no hero.

Arpaio is facing a new federal lawsuit, set to go to trial in December, alleging that he used his office to target the son of a political opponent in 2014, by attempting to connect his name to animal cruelty charges.

Specifically, Arpaio seems to have targeted the son of retiring Senator Jeff Flake.

The Associated Press reports:

Austin Flake and his wife were charged in the heat-exhaustion deaths of 21 dogs in June 2014 at a kennel operated by his in-laws. The Flakes were watching the dogs when the in-laws were out of town.

The dogs died when an air conditioning unit failed in a small room where the animals spent the night.

The case against the Flakes was dismissed at the request of prosecutors, and the owners of the kennel pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after an expert determined the air conditioner failed because the operators didn’t properly maintain it.

Heartbreaking, but pretty cut and dried, and not their fault, right?

Well, in a normal world, yes. In Arpaio’s world, however, maybe not. The lawsuit, set to begin on December 5, alleges that Arpaio was so intent on linking the deaths to the Flake name that he set up surveillance on Senator Flake’s home. He also tasked his investigators with examining Austin Flake’s phone records, searching for any communications between Austin Flake and his father during the time the younger Flake and his wife were tending to the kennel.

Bizarre.

Lawyers for Austin Flake and his then-wife have said the senator disagreed with Arpaio over immigration and was critical of the movement questioning the authenticity of then-President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

In a deposition, Arpaio didn’t accept responsibility for bringing the charges against the couple and was unable to cite any evidence to support the allegations. But he still expressed confidence in his investigators.

“I am going by what my detectives accomplished during their investigation,” Arpaio said during the July 2016 deposition. “They had the nuts and bolts already. I defend my people. I have confidence in them. I don’t have to know everything that’s going on.”

You were the sheriff. It was kind of your job to know what those under you were doing.

Stephen Montoya, the attorney representing Austin Flake and his now former wife, Logan Brown, claims that without evidence to show any intent to harm the animals temporarily under their care, Arpaio’s office charged them with the horrible crimes that caused enough stress to eventually contribute to the end their marriage.

“It splashed their names across the internet as the murderers of 21 dogs. It really ravaged them emotionally,” Montoya said, noting that Austin Flake was 21 and his wife was 20 at the time.

A ruling in August by U.S. District Judge Neil Wake dismissed a defamation allegation from the lawsuit but determined investigators didn’t have probable cause to charge the couple.

“A factfinder could thus reasonably find that the prosecutors initially charged the Flakes based on pressure from Arpaio,” Wake wrote.

The prosecutor who brought the original charges has claimed that there was no pressure from Arpaio, and that she and her supervisors made the decision on their own.

No amount of compensation is listed with the lawsuit, but the couple previously listed $4 million in a notice of claim (which comes before the lawsuit).

This wouldn’t be the first time Arpaio has stepped outside of his authority or has used his office in ways unbecoming an officer of the law.

It is, however, a new low.

[lundbaek]

The above post reads like Jeff Flake is grasping at straws to jump on the pig pile on top of Joe Arpaio. There are many people in Maricopa County who would like for Arpaio to suffer as much as possible for his having upheld immigration laws.

[Joel]

[Joel]

[Joel]

[Joel]

ARPAIO STRUGGLES TO EXPLAIN CHARGES AGAINST JEFF FLAKE'S SON IN GREEN ACRES CASE

 Arpaio said on the witness stand Wednesday that he was following his detectives' advice when he recommended felony charges.

 During four-plus hours in court Wednesday, former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio struggled to explain why he recommended 21 felony charges against the son of a political rival, Sen. Jeff Flake.

Austin Flake and Austin's now-ex-wife, Logan Brown, are suing Arpaio in federal court for malicious prosecution -- targeting them to strike back at the Arizona senator.

Three years ago, Flake and Brown were charged after 21 dogs died under their care at a Gilbert kennel owned by Brown's parents.

Prosecutors later dropped the charges after they learned Arpaio's investigators withheld key evidence.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery declined to file new charges against Flake and Brown in the kennel deaths, which were linked to an air-conditioning failure.

Arpaio said on the witness stand Wednesday that he was following his detectives' advice when he recommended the felony charges.

But under intense questioning by Flake attorney Stephen Montoya, the former lawman struggled to justify the charges. Here's a sample of their exchange:

    Flake attorney Stephen Montoya: Can you tell the jury one fact (about the charges)?
    Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio: I listen to my detectives when they say we have good evidence.
    Montoya: What evidence did you have that Austin Flake intended to hurt dogs?
    Arpaio: I'm saying what detectives compiled.
    Montoya: Isn't it that you didn't know what you were talking about?
    Arpaio: Not true.

The lawsuit alleges that Arpaio's deputies searched Austin Flake's and Logan Brown's phone records for evidence that they spoke with Sen. Flake after the dogs died.

Days after the dogs died, the suit alleges, Arpaio deputies staked out the senator's home seeking to tie him to the investigation.

Flake and Arpaio have been on opposite dies of the republican divide on illegal immigration -- Arpaio the hardliner, Flake seeking reform.

They haven't clashed publicly, beyond Flake's criticism of the "birther" movement questioning President Barack Obama's birthplace, which Arpaio championed.

Arpaio testified Wednesday that the last time he and the senator spoke was at the 2014 victory party for Gov. Doug Ducey.

Austin Flake and Logan Brown are expected to testify on Thursday.

The trial, before a jury of five women and three men, should last into next week.

Arpaio was voted out office in November 2016, after serving as sheriff for 24 years.

Maricopa County taxpayers are paying Arpaio's legal bill for this lawsuit, because it involves an allegation stemming from his conduct in office.