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Dallas County Sheriff sued for negligence, false arrest & defamation

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August 2nd, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Two men who said they were hired to break into the Dallas County Courthouse are now suing the Dallas County Sheriff. According to KCCI, Gary DeMercurio and Justin Wynn filed the lawsuit against Sheriff Chad Leonard. The men worked for Coalfire Labs, a cybersecurity firm hired by the Iowa Judicial Branch to test the security of court facilities.

The men said their agreement with the state protected them from arrest. But when they broke into the Dallas County Courthouse in 2019 they said Leonard refused to honor that agreement. DeMercurio and Wynn were jailed and criminally charged. Those charges were eventually dropped.

The two are suing Leonard for negligence, false arrest and defamation among other claims.