A former Ritchie County sheriff's deputy has sued the sheriff who fired him, claiming his civil rights were violated when the sheriff installed a GPS tracking device on his police cruiser without a warrant.
James Asbury, 49, of Berea, filed the lawsuit against Ritchie Sheriff Bryan Backus and Ronald Barniak, a former sheriff in Ritchie County and Backus' chief administrator. In the complaint, which was filed in Ritchie Circuit Court on Friday, Asbury claims that Backus and Barniak have a history of violating deputies' constitutional right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure.
Last year, Circuit Judge Timothy Sweeney dismissed eight felony charges of falsifying accounts and a misdemeanor embezzlement charge against Asbury. The judge ruled that there was no exception to the warrant requirement in dealing with the GPS installed on Asbury's cruiser, according to the complaint.
The former deputy claims he got on the sheriff's bad side because he didn't write enough tickets. Because of that, the lawsuit states, Backus and Barniak "decided to engage in a roundabout way of terminating the plaintiff's employment as a sheriff's deputy, by placing a GPS tracking device on his take-home police cruiser, and then comparing the GPS data with his daily logs and time sheets," the complaint states.
The device was allegedly installed in October 2013 at an auto repair shop. Information from the GPS was monitored through May 2014, according to the lawsuit.
"The defendants purposely chose not to seek a warrant to authorize placing the GPS device on Deputy Asbury's car," the lawsuit states.
Backus and Barniak couldn't be reached Monday afternoon. The lawsuit states the men have denied any wrongdoing.
Asbury says he didn't find out about the GPS until May 22, 2014, when the charges were filed against him, allegedly at the direction of the sheriff.
Backus testified before a grand jury and told jurors that he authorized the placement of the GPS, and that he "had authority to do so," the lawsuit states.
"He testified that Deputy Asbury 'was always at the bottom of the list with his activity,' and that he was merely 'trying to understand why,'" the lawsuit states.
Asbury's lawsuit also claims that the sheriff told grand jurors about the locations Asbury traveled while off duty and reminded them that their taxes pay for Asbury's expenses.
"You guys need to know that I think everybody here knows me, and they know that I handle problems. Look at my record with employees in the past," the lawsuit alleges the sheriff told grand jurors. "I try to take care of problems ... It's your money ... It's taxpayer money that he was taking from ... It's a very bad situation."
During Asbury's preliminary hearing, after he was indicted, Backus allegedly told a judge that on prior occasions, he had authorized GPS monitoring of other deputies who are no longer employed by the sheriff's department. Similarly, Asbury's lawsuit alleges, Backus and Barniak illegally gained access to another deputy's department cellphone and cellphone records, without obtaining a warrant, to try to obtain evidence the deputy had been talking to his significant other on the department's phone.
That deputy, according to Asbury's lawsuit, was eventually forced to retire or be fired.
Asbury claims he was publicly humiliated and is entitled to recover past and future wages. Asbury was on administrative leave until recently, when he was fired, attorney Scott Windom said Monday.
"Although the defendants claim that there were personnel issues involving Deputy Asbury which necessitated the monitoring, neither the defendants, nor Deputy Asbury's superior officer ever counseled him, or brought any perceived issues to his attention before resorting to surreptitious monitoring and criminal charges," the lawsuit states.
Backus' term as sheriff ends in January. He has served as sheriff since 2008, and is prohibited by state law from seeking a third consecutive term.
In 2013, the State Ethics Commission told Backus that it was improper for him to have used money from the county's concealed weapons permit to pay for flight lessons. He paid back the money.
Barniak was on the ballot for another term as sheriff, but was easily defeated in the Republican primary earlier this month by Terry Snodgrass.
Asbury's lawsuit also names the Ritchie County Commission as a defendant, because the county employs Backus and Barniak. The lawsuit was assigned to Sweeney, who is the only circuit judge in Ritchie County.
Asbury is represented by attorneys John Bryan, of Union, and Rodney and Scott Windom, of Harrisville.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.