UPDATE: Rutherford 'Operation Candy Crush' plaintiff seeks $10 million on false arrest

NASHVILLE − Plaintiff James Swain Rieves, a former Smyrna business owner, who faced "Operation Candy Crush" false arrest drug dealer charges, seeks $10 million in his federal lawsuit against Rutherford County and Smyrna.

Unlike other original store-owning plaintiffs of 23 padlocked businesses, Rieves refused to accept a settlement that totaled $1.3 million for the others from false arrests and shop seizures Feb. 12, 2018, at his Cloud 9 Hemp business that had been located on Jefferson Street off U.S. Highway 41 and across from Smyrna's historic Depot District by the CSX railroad.

A judge soon dismissed charges against Rieves and other arrested, raided and padlocked store owners after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation informed prosecutors the TBI lab tests could not prove any of the seized CBD products, including gummy bears, were illegal schedule VI narcotics.

Rieves sought a jury trial this week after filing a lawsuit against Rutherford Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh and retired Smyrna Police Chief Kevin Arnold.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of violating the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment Rights through illegal searches and seizures at his business that had made an income of about $237,000 in 2017 through manufacturing and marketing online products made with legal hemp.

"I knew it was legal, and I knew there was a demand for it," Rieves told a jury of five women and four men at the federal courthouse building in downtown Nashville.

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Law enforcement accused him of selling illegal CBD products. Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor dismissed the charges when the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported that lab tests could not verify the products were illegal narcotics.

Rieves testified what he sold contained industrial hemp that's legal in all 50 states rather than marijuana that's illegal in Tennessee. He started his business initially as Platinum Vaper LLC in Woodbury before quickly deciding to focus on selling legal CBD products under the name, Cloud 9 Hemp.

"This was my baby. I grew it. I nurtured it."

Rieves told the jury about law enforcement omitting the word, "Hemp," from his business name when submitting legal documents to a Judge Taylor to obtain the padlock, search and seizure order for his "Cloud 9" store.

The plaintiff testified Tuesday and Wednesday the first two days of the trial. Others scheduled to testify include Sheriff Fitzhugh, Arnold, the retired Smyrna police chief who's now a warrants officer for the sheriff, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation staff, District Attorney General Jennings Jones and Assistant District Attorney John Zimmerman.

Both prosecutors were named in the initial lawsuit as defendants.

The evidence shown to the jury included a press conference video recorded Feb. 12, 2018, by The Daily News Journal, including Fitzhugh, Arnold and Jones. The three announced the arrests and raids of 23 stores selling CBD candy.

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'I felt terrified': Rieves testifies about hardships of false arrest

Rieves is a father of four.

He and his wife moved their family from Rutherford County to Alabama in 2023, and he bought a pizzeria and Italian restaurant to operate but now hopes to sell because the business keeps him from his family. He graduated in 1999 from McGavock High School on eastside of Nashville and earned a bachelor's degree in radio and TV in 2004 from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, he testified.

The arrest of Rieves, and padlocking, search and seizure of his Cloud 9 Hemp shop stopped the internet business he started in 2014 from being profitable through selling products he manufactured using Hemp he obtained from a publicly traded corporation, Isodiol, he testified Tuesday at the federal court building in Nashville.

The products included oils, lotions and vape, and Rieves said he had hoped to offer his merchandize to Walmart and Amazon shoppers. His labels touting that Hemp is legal in all 50 states. Rieves also had obtained three federal trademarks for three of his products, including Rad Dads, he told the jury.

The jury also learned that Walmart responded to a subpoena for the case by acknowledging the international store sells around 100 CBD products. Rieves told the jury that Cloud 9 Hemp manufactured similar products customers could buy online.

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Police conduct 2 search warrants at Cloud 9 Hemp

Rieves faced two searches and seizures. Smyrna Police Detective Eric Clet Elstran obtained the first search warrant Sept. 26, 2017, to raid Cloud 9 Hemp on Sept. 26, 2017. That was the same day the plaintiff was scheduled to buy a new home for his family.

Rieves said he was mowing the lawn of the home he thought he was going to purchase when he got a call from an employee that his shop was being raided. When he arrived at the business, a card from the detective was left after his products had been seized.

"It looked like a tornado had gone through my shop," Rieves told the jury.

Rieves called the detective and learned the products would be tested to see if they contained an illegal narcotic that would lead to an arrest.

He ended up cancelling plans to close on buying a home and worried he'd be sent to prison.

"I felt scared," said Rieves, who noted that he didn't get sleep for about a week. "I felt terrified. I was panicked. I feared for my freedom and my family."

Cloud 9 Hemp "is how I supported my family," Rieves told the jury.

"I wasn't doing anything illegal."

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The first search and seizure cost Rieves an employee, who gave notice in an email to tell him she's quitting because of concerns about the business being accused of violating the law and that she has a 3-year-old child to think about.

"I could feel people distancing themselves from me," Rieves said.

The second search and seizure included the arrest of Rieves on Feb. 12, 2018. He was with his wife at an OBGYN to learn about their expected child when an employee called him.

"I was getting raided," Rieves told the jury.

He also told the jury how his now 5-year-old daughter he and his wife were expecting in 2018 worries about him going to prison because the girl doesn't understand why her father is in in federal court in a civil case. His family has spent part of the trial sitting in the courtroom audience seats.

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After getting notified about being raided for the second time, Rieves arrived to see about 15 officers, including Detective Elstran, on the scene of his store that was padlocked and had a "nuisance" poster displayed by court order. Police arrested him, read him his rights and put handcuffs on him in the parking lot while he noticed people in businesses nearby peaking at him through windows.

The plaintiff testified about being booked at the jail, finger printed, answering questions, posing for a mug shot and then spending half a day in a holding cell shoulder to shoulder with others facing charges, including the other store owners selling CBD products.

He paid $1,000, which is 10% of his $10,000 bond, to be released.

"My wife picked me up, and we headed home," Rieves said.

Rieves recalled after the arrest that he was volunteering to serve food at a Christian school where his daughter attended and having to explain to people what happened to him and also "feeling eyeballs on me."

"We felt ostracized," Rieves told the jury.

Although the charges were soon dismissed and business allowed to reopen, Rieves said he lost customers and offered $50 coupons in hopes of attracting them back.

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Rieves talks about stress and health

The false arrest has caused stress on Rieves, his marriage and family. He's had to take entry level jobs. Rieves said he's experienced anxiety, depression, panic attacks, loss of apatite, loss of sleep and "distrust for my government."

Rieves told the jury that he had been self medicating with marijuana.

By 2019, Rieves said the stress affected his heart, and he needed to be taken by ambulance to Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West in Nashville for treatment.

"I was having these speeding, racing heart moments," he told the jury.

"I didn't ask for any of this to happen," he told the jury. "I'm just looking for peace of mind. I'm looking for closure."

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Former sheriff's deputies question raids, arrests

In addition to hearing from the plaintiff, the jury listened to testimony from two former sheriff's deputies who both said they were uncomfortable pursuing the Operation Candy Crush arrests and raids.

Former Maj. William "Bill" Sharp told the jury he had attempted to communicate to Fitzhugh and the sheriff's command staff to hold off on pursing the arrests and search warrants because the "TBI can't testify to chemical content of CBD."

"I told them I had concerns about the legality of it," Sharp told the jury.

Sharp also said he had concerns about padlocking businesses and posting "Nuisance" notices and how these law enforcement actions would impact people and cause a backlash from the public on the sheriff's office.

The major suggested alternatives, such as talking to the store owners about pulling the CBD products off their shelves until a determination could be made about whether the merchandize was legal.

Sharp also said he felt angry about what Zimmerman, the assistant district attorney, had to say at a meeting about the arrested store owners will come in "on their court date, pay their fines and get their businesses open."

"I thought it was extortion," Sharp said.

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Padlocking stores means 'drilling holes in someone else's property

The jury also heard former sheriff's Lt. Jason Mathis say he felt uncomfortable with the Operation Candy Crush plan.

"It still wasn't 100% clear to us the legality of everything," Mathis said.

Mathis also testified that he had concerns about raiding 23 stores, including many owned by people of Middle Eastern background, rather than pursing a plan that involved every store selling CBD products.

U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger instructed the jury to ignore the testimony about store owners with Middle Eastern heritage because the case is about only about one plaintiff.

Mathis also told the jury he had concerns with padlocking leased stores that might involve "drilling holes in someone else's property."

Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. Follow his tweets on the X social media platform that used to be known as Twitter @ScottBroden. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Rutherford 'Operation Candy Crush' plaintiff seeks $10M on false arrest