‘Reprehensible’: Las Vegas charges motorist who filed federal lawsuit over his arrest

Las Vegas prosecutors this week filed charges against a motorist who lodged a federal lawsuit against the city after he was jailed on suspicion of DUI this year.

Derek Myers faces one count each of DUI, reckless driving and no proof of insurance, according to a complaint provided by city officials.

“The City’s actions are, in short, reprehensible and there is no doubt that any person that had not filed a multi-million dollar civil case against the City would never have been charged,” attorney Adam Breeden wrote in a statement.

“Mr. Myers was a safety threat to no one that evening except the rogue City marshals. Shame on the City for its actions today.”

Myers was pulled over about 5 p.m. January 9 on Interstate 11, near Craig Road, according to his arrest report.

Marshals alleged that Myers tailgated their cruiser and then switched over into the highway’s shoulder, the report said.

After the marshals let him pass, Myers continued “at a high rate of speed” before they stopped him and contacted the Nevada Highway Patrol, the report said.

Myers was uncooperative and initially refused to hand over his driver’s license, the report said.

‘No jurisdiction’

Myers told a marshal that the officer didn’t know what he was doing and that he had “no jurisdiction,” the report alleged.

When he was told he was being detained, Myers alleged that he had been taken “hostage,” calling 911 to say he was being “kidnapped,” the report said.

A trooper who arrived at the scene convinced Myers to step out of his vehicle, the report said.

Myers, who appeared drowsy, failed field sobriety tests and told marshals that he had taken daily medication to help him with anxiety and sleep, the report alleged.

Marshals found pills on him and in a backpack. The report redacted the name of the medication.

Myers had blood drawn and was taken to the city’s municipal jail.

“Toxicology results later confirmed the presence of impairing prescription medications and controlled substances in his system,” a city spokesperson wrote in a statement this week.

Asked why it took months to file the charges, the spokesperson said Wednesday that investigators were awaiting the lab results.

“The statute of limitations to file charges like these is one year, which the city is well within,” the spokesperson said.

Lawsuit ongoing

Myers filed the lawsuit in late March, also alleging that the vehicle was searched without his consent or a warrant.

The complaint categorized the marshals as “a rogue law enforcement agency brazenly operating outside its legal authority.”

Marshals Jason Brooks and Sergio Guzman were named in the lawsuit, along with Las Vegas Department of Public Safety Chief Jason Potts.

Both the city and Myers’ suit pointed to a Nevada law that notes the marshals’ authority.

The statute, in part, states that their power is limited to “the enforcement of state laws and city and county ordinances on real property owned, leased or otherwise under the control of the participating political subdivision.”

Breeden said that it’s possible that “thousands” of people might have been arrested by marshals “clearly operating outside of their jurisdiction.”

The city had not provided Myers’ toxicology results Breeden said would exonerate his client, he said, adding that Myers had only taken “minor amounts of an anti-depressant” more than 12 hours before he was pulled over.

“The City had to use a vague, subjective standard for impairment to make themselves look righteous because the actual toxicology results establish Mr. Myers did not have a blood alcohol level of any drug actually in excess of any statutorily-defined limits,” Breeden said.

He said the city was retaliating against his client.

“They have charged only the man who stood up for his rights and filed a class action lawsuit against them,” Breeden said.

The city filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last month, arguing that marshals had the authority to conduct the traffic stop and make the arrest “to prevent Myers from further endangering the public with his reckless driving.”

Breeden filed an opposition last week.

As of Wednesday, a judge’s hadn’t ruled on the motions.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.