Carson City man awarded $20,000 for bust mistake

A Carson City man whose apartment was mistakenly raided by drug agents was awarded $20,000 on Tuesday by the state Board of Examiners.

Also awarded damages were a man whose rights were violated by Nevada Division of Investigation officers and a trucker whose trailer was wrecked at an underpass.

Secretary of State Dean Heller said the damage claims raise serious concerns whether some agencies know the extent of the legal problems they create for the state.

"Some of these raise red flags," he said."All three should have been avoidable."

Joseph Malone was awarded $20,000 after state agents burst into his Carson City apartment on Long Street shortly after 6 a.m. in December 2000, pulled him and his girlfriend Katrina Noah out of bed, handcuffed them and forced them to lie on the floor.

It took Tri-Net narcotics agents about 10 minutes to realize they had broken down the wrong door in attempting to make a methamphetamine arrest. The apartment they were looking for was across the street in the same complex.

"It was supposed to be a 10-month investigation," Noah said at the time. "You'd think they can get the address right."

In another case, William Barks was taken in for questioning twice by state investigators during February. Each session lasted about 40 minutes, yet Barks was never informed of his rights, never told that he could leave and denied permission to have his attorney present.

He was awarded $25,000 by the board consisting of Heller, Gov. Kenny Guinn and Attorney General Brian Sandoval.

Finally, the board approved $50,000 for damages to a truck owned by Sierra Pacific Power Co. Since the truck's load was 15-feet, 9-inches high, the trucker saw no problem in driving under an overpass marked as having 16 feet 6 inches of clearance. He had the necessary oversized load permits and had contacted the Nevada Department of Transportation.

Unfortunately, the sign on the overpass was wrong. It was only 15 feet 5 inches high and seriously damaged the breaker being transported on the truck.

Heller said that some of those problems seem to show up again and again. He asked what efforts are made to ensure that agencies learn from their mistakes.

"There's always been somewhat of a disconnect between the claim and follow-up," said Director of Administration Perry Comeaux. He said the tort claim is handled by the Attorney General's Office but that risk management is under his department.

He said there is no formal process to make sure agencies get the message after a claim is filed.

He agreed the state needs to work on the problem.