Iowa man sues after spending 251 days in jail on evidence gathered illegally
An Iowa man spent 251 days in jail on charges related to evidence a judge later found was gathered illegally. Now he's suing the officers involved, alleging unconstitutional search and seizure.
Steven Schoessler had drugs when he was arrested and charged in 2022, but the officer who found them did not have enough evidence to search the vehicle, according to court documents. The judge found Guthrie County deputy Shane Jones lawfully detained Schoessler but also falsely claimed his car was in a handicap spot, which ultimately led to the search and seizure of his truck.
Schoessler was charged with two counts of violation of a controlled substance for marijuana and methamphetamine, two counts of failure to affix a drug stamp and driving while barred.
The drug charges were dropped in January after Judge Stacy Ritchie ruled to suppress all evidence related to the search of Schoessler's vehicle. He pleaded guilty to the charge of driving while barred, an aggravated misdemeanor.
He filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in April against Jones, officer Daniel Irving, Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright, police chief Dave Reha, Guthrie County and the city of Stuart, claiming unconstitutional search, malicious prosecution and negligent supervision and training. Though she is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird was the county attorney in Guthrie County when charges were filed.
Schoessler's lawyers have requested a jury trial and monetary relief, in part for "violation of his constitutional rights, loss of income and earning capacity, humiliation, degradation, public ridicule, loss of personal and professional reputation, and emotional distress," court documents say.
More: Courts rule Des Moines police violated rights in two cases, side with police in a third
Why were the police called in the first place?
On May 14, 2022, Schoessler drove to an apartment complex in Guthrie County with a crossbow and open beer can and entered a woman's apartment uninvited, according to court documents. A witness said his speech was slurred and Schoessler was not behaving normally.
Jones had learned Schoessler was driving a white truck and was allegedly attempting to steal a dog. According to testimony outlined in the motion to suppress, the apartment was in a known drug area. Upon arrival, Jones said he smelled alcohol and observed Schoessler slurring his speech and detained him.
K-9 'alert' led to search of the vehicle
According to court documents, dispatch notified Jones that Schoessler had a barred license. The deputy arrested Schoessler on that charge and offered to enter the vehicle to get the suspect's phone. Schoessler declined, which led the deputy to get Urs, his drug-sniffing K-9, to smell the exterior of the truck, according to court documents.
The deputy testified that Urs changed direction abruptly and rose on his rear legs, prompting the officers on scene to search the vehicle. Once they found the drugs, they had the car towed.
Jones testified Urs is trained to sniff out narcotics and his "tell," meaning he smells drugs, is to sit and stare or to stand and stare. Urs did not exhibit those signs in this case.
The court found that a reasonable person would not think the way Urs reacted meant he smelled drugs. Regardless, Jones could have impounded the truck and done an inventory search, during which he would have legally found the drugs. He did not complete an inventory search or fill out the required inventory sheet.
Jones testified that he impounded the vehicle because it was parked in a handicap parking space in a private lot. But the motion to suppress revealed that was not true. Jones said in court that he believed towing the vehicle would be safer than keeping it parked in a known drug area.
Jones testified he didn't complete an inventory because there were cameras in the lot to record the search — a deviation of state policy. The judge found that he did not have a warrant to search the vehicle and did not have probable cause to search it.
Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter@NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa man sues after 251 days in jail on evidence gathered illegally
