Thursday, September 17, 2015

My wife is recovering from surgery on the arm Missouri deputies broke during violent "eviction"


My wife, Carol, had surgery yesterday on the arm that Missouri sheriff deputies broke during an unlawful "eviction" that appeared to be more like an orchestrated assault.

A trauma surgeon said the procedure went well, and he expects a full recovery. Carol's caregivers said she will need regular physical therapy, and her recovery probably will take at least two to three months.

The surgeon described Carol's injury as a broken elbow. He said a number of implants (screws, etc.) were needed to piece the bone back together. It looks like Carol will be in the hospital at least one more night.

My computer access is limited, but I will try to keep readers updated on Carol's condition and the events that led to her injury. Jim Arnott, the sheriff of Greene County, Missouri, was at the scene of the "eviction" and watched from a few feet away as his deputies assaulted Carol--doing nothing to intervene except pointing a finger and indicating Carol had "assaulted a police officer."

Arnott and at least one other officer indicated they brought heavy weaponry because I had called 911 and threatened law enforcement if officers tried to evict us. How big a liar is Arnott? Gargantuan might be one fitting adjective.

Carol was viciously assaulted, and I would bet that not one officer has a scratch on him (or her) from the encounter. Meanwhile, Carol has one broken arm, and it's a miracle the other arm wasn't broken. As for me, I've never called 911 in my life, and I've never called anyone to threaten law enforcement.

At least one Legal Schnauzer reader, who writes investigative reports on Facebook, contacted Arnott and asked several questions about the events involving Carol and me. The reader said Arnott acted as if he had no idea what she was talking about. From the reader:

Just got of phone with the . . . sheriff, and he refused to answer any questions about this. Told me I could go to their site and file a "Missouri sunshine law " request. He wouldn't answer anything and got smart with me until I told him off and hung up (yes, my phone # was blocked). I asked pertinent questions such as did he run for office as a Dem or Rep. and of course it was Republican. Also the judge on your case, Kelly Halford Rose. is a Republican. . . .

I did not know Arnott was on the scene [when I talked to him]. He was trying to act dumb when I gave him the address and asked if he had a warrant or proof there was a threat to his department called in? He stonewalled. This is beyond ridiculous.

In the moments before her injury, Carol had been told she could recover our personal belongings--and I was told I could do the same when she was finished. She was walking toward our front door, mainly concerned about retrieving the litter box for our cat Baxter, when two or more deputies jumped her, slammed her to the ground, and twisted both arms behind her back.

Sheriff Jim Arnott
(From KSPR)
Her right arm is badly bruised, and I asked the trauma surgeon to check it because all of the attention seemed to be on her left arm, the broken one. The surgeon said he did not see any breaks or other damage to the right arm, beyond the bruising.

How can such an assault happen on any eviction, much less one where I had filed an appeal that automatically put a stay on proceedings? That's hard to say, but the attorney for landlord Cowherd Construction clearly had knowledge an appeal had been filed. Associate Gregory Lulich is handling the case for the Lowther Johnson law firm. I notified Lulich the day before the scheduled eviction, both by e-mail and voice message, that an appeal had been filed--and I lawfully served him with pertinent documents.

I served another attorney in the case--David Shuler, who happens to be my brother. He represents our mother, even though she isn't lawfully a party to the case. It appears Cowherd Construction sued my mother (with no grounds for doing so) as an excuse to have David involved in the case. Like Lulich, David Shuler had knowledge that the eviction was stayed and did nothing about it--directly implicating him in Carol's injuries. David Shuler, who serves on the Springfield, Missouri Planning and Zoning Commission, is aware that his sister-in-law was seriously hurt--due in large part to his own actions and inactions--but has he acknowledged it or expressed concern about it? Nope.

As for our question about how a bogus eviction could turn into a scene of violence . . . here is a comment from a reader, who is familiar with the normal eviction process, and these words might shine light on that question:

I'm confused. I work for a rental company. There are laws in Alabama that protect the landlord and the tenant. Did they ignore your appeal or did you miss the date for the hearing? The deputies that handle our evictions are there to enforce the eviction but don't touch anything. Employees of our company remove the tenant's belongings, change locks, etc. I've never heard of this many deputies going to an eviction.

Here is my response to the reader:

Most rational people would be confused, . . . Yes, they completely ignored my appeal, which put an automatic stay on the eviction. I notified the landlord's attorney, both by e-mail and voice message, so he had every reason to know that the eviction could not go forward. I've had others tell me they've never heard of this many deputies going to an eviction and bringing at least one, maybe two, assault weapons--plus multiple handguns. The sheriff of Greene County, Missouri, himself was there. How often does that happen? Not only did they touch stuff, they handcuffed both Carol and me, they assaulted her and broke her arm while she was trying to retrieve our cat's litter box, and a neighbor said he saw the landlord's crew stealing our belongings.

27 comments:

Steve said...

Do you know if there were any recording devices in operation held by the "police" or onlookers?

legalschnauzer said...

That's a very good question, Steve, and I don't have an answer at the moment. I'm not aware of any onlookers with recording devices. Not sure if any of the deputies had body cams, etc. If they did, I would be interested in seeing the footage. This deal almost makes my arrest seem quaint by comparison--and it was horrifying.

daelv said...

Looks like corruption is a contagion drifting in from Alabama. Glad to see someone put the joker on notice.

Anonymous said...

Was your mother's name on the lease? Are you planning to post copies of the complaint, counter suit and your appeal?
Most law enforcement agencies in the country use the AR-15 platform for their patrol rifles.

Matt Osborne said...

Amazing how it doesn't seem to count when you serve papers, only when they're served on you.

IIRC, this is not the first time your brother has screwed you?

legalschnauzer said...

Matt, I'm not sure how many times my brother has screwed me. But he definitely knew this eviction was stayed, and he let it happen anyway, leading to a severely broken arm for his sister-in-law. He also wrote an improper ex parte letter to the judge, stating that he was going to do everything he could to help the landlord in the case against Carol and me. Your friend (and mine) Aaron Walker wrote a post about my incarceration where the original headline referred to me as "David Schuler" (sic). Coincidence? Don't know, but seems strange to me that of all the names Walker could have slipped up with in trying to ID me, he just happened to slip up with my brother's name.


http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-daily-caller-for-whom-jessica.html

legalschnauzer said...

I probably will publish the documents you reference, @8:44, but with my wife still in the hospital after having her arm pieced back together, I have other concerns on my plate at the moment.

Steve said...

Why does your brother hate you?

legalschnauzer said...

Steve, I'm not sure "hate" is the right word. But there seems to be a deep-seated animosity or resentment that goes back quite a few years--and it's not based in reality. I've always treated him well and wished him well, but our family dynamic has changed since he became a lawyer around 1992-93. I long have thought that the legal profession attracts people who are: (1) Ethically shaky to begin with; or (2) Vulnerable to caving in to an unethical environment once they become a part of it. I've described the legal profession as a "tribe," but another word would be "fraternity"--and, ironically, my brother was a fraternity guy in college. I'm not qualified to do anything more than "dime store" psychology, but evidence suggests both my brother and my mother have been bashing Carol and me behind our backs since at least the 1992 time frame. Why? Not sure, but we were in Alabama (550 miles from Missouri), so I guess that made us easy targets. I'm guessing professionals would describe that as a form of bullying. Bottom line: I thought I grew up in a great family, but the dysfunction has become evident over the past two decades, culminating with severe injuries to Carol in a situation where my brother had the ability to prevent it--and he did nothing; in fact, he stated in an ex parte letter to the judge that he actively would help the landlord screw us at any opportunity. Pretty sick stuff, if you ask me.

Anonymous said...

O....M....G.....I just found your site from another site. So, so sorry your wife was injured from corrupt police and through a corrupt justice system.

I sincerely hope you have legal means to fight this. I truly feel for you and your wife.


I can understand the brother hating but don't know why.......went through it and going through it........at first it was one brother my entire life (parents always defended him and his side) then the one got two other siblings on board against me three years ago.......a nightmare........turned my mother against me, poisoned the well with who used to be friends. I don't have a clue why. My ex family was always dysfunctional and I knew it.....I was the one that always got dumped on and blamed.


I hope you get answers.

Signed, Tired of Accusations

Anonymous said...

Dude you are insane. I'm sure your brother, who looks to be a successful and upstanding member of the community has a "deep-seated animosity or resentment" towards you. Then again, I wouldn't blame him at all. You would be a total embarrassment to any family. Let's see, I'm sure we only know part of the story, but we know that you couldn't find a place to live without having your mommy sign the lease for you. Why in the world would you willing leave Alabama (you seemed so well loved there LOL) to go back "home" to Missouri where according to you, your entire family seems to hate you.
How could you ever get your self to the point of being evicted? You know what I would do to prevent that? Anything I possibly could. I would be working my ass off 24/7 to keep my family off the street, especially if I knew my mother was going to get sued in the process. Dude you must be 60 something years old. Grow some balls and finish your life off strong, stop playing the victim card, look in the mirror, maybe "the man" isn't the problem. Just maybe it is you.

legalschnauzer said...

Always interesting to get a "man up" comment from someone who isn't man enough to sign his name and take accountability for his words. Want to see somebody who needs to grow some balls? Take a look at yourself.

Anonymous said...

Congrats to @5:29 for being the biggest POS ever. What a worm!

Anonymous said...

I guess @5:29 would have us believe Mrs. Schnauzer's arm snapped, with no assistance from a cop. Must be a Repug who believe all the Bush garbage about war in Iraq. Amazing how many simpletons are out there.

Anonymous said...

How much do you owe in rent, late fees, court costs, etc?
Why did you not pay your rent in a timely manner?
Why did you wait until the last day to file an appeal?
What time of day was the appeal filed?

legalschnauzer said...

You seem to know so much, @11:21, so look it up yourself. That information is available on the Web.

Anonymous said...

I doubt the "Why did you not pay your rent in a timely manner?" and "Why did you wait until the last day to file an appeal?" answers are "available on the Web."

Anonymous said...

What part of "the Web" do I go to find out why you didn't pay and why you waited so long to file?

legalschnauzer said...

I provided a link in a recent post to Missouri court information, with facts about the case in question. I even gave the name of the case for easy searching. If you want to know "Why did you not pay your rent in a timely manner?" and "Why did you wait until the last day to file an appeal?" you will have a hard time with that because both of your questions assume facts that are not correct.

If you want to learn the facts of the case, find the link I provided in a post last week and give it a search. If you are looking for information to fit your preconceived agenda, I can't help you with that.

Anonymous said...

I would like more information on the actual case. I went to the Missouri court information and read through everything I had access to. It gave no information about the actual claim and counter-claim. Most people are going to assume an eviction is for non-payment of rent, especially with a previous eviction, but there is no way to know with the limited information given. When you publish the actual paperwork, from the original claim, counter-claim and appeal, it should clear up the confusion.

Anonymous said...

11:46 and 1:31 do you really expect him to answer those questions? lol No chance. Let's give him another chance to not answer a question. How about this one. Of the time you spent in the residence you were evicted from, how many of the months did you actually pay for out of your pocket, not your moms, your own pocket? Simple question. Answer that one. Also it's so clear how this will turn out. He will run to the local media and tell his sob story to anyone that will listen. I give it a week tops before that happens. Never miss a chance to play the victim card after all. Wonder where he is living now? How long until he doesn't pay for that and is once again evicted? Can't wait to see who he blames for that one lol.

legalschnauzer said...

You might need to go to the Greene County Courthouse, @4:58, to get more information or perhaps there is a subscription option to case.net--not sure about that. Either way, it's public information, and it shows that our rent was paid and the notice of appeal had stayed execution of eviction. If you find anything different, let me know.

legalschnauzer said...

I did answer the questions for @11:46 and @1:31. Just try reading my responses. As for you, @9:22, you are asking personal questions of me, so I have a personal question for you. Who are you--what is your real name and location? Provide that and we can go from there. Or are you a bomb thrower who is ignorant and too cowardly to come out from behind the cloak of anonymity?

Anonymous said...

Hey, smart ass at 9:22. If the rent was timely paid, what difference does it make who paid it? If Roger had an agreement with his mother on the rent, what difference does it make and why does it matter to you? You've claimed Roger's rent wasn't paid and that his appeal was filed too late, but you've offered not one shred of evidence to support that. You sound like a fraud with an agenda to me--and I don't think you have any idea what you are talking about.

Anonymous said...

Was the lease up? Even if you had been a model tenant, the landlord is under no obligation to renew a lease.
I agree with 10:10 that it doesn't matter who paid the rent as long as it is paid in a timely manner.
I did find the judgement from the judge on 8-27-15. I will say the order is not the best example of a professional judge, but it does lead me to believe there was a claim of non-payment of rent. The order has two sentences that have been marked out and hand written changes were made. One read "The court finds that the defendant owes back rent pursuant to a valid lease agreement" and was changed to "The court finds that the plaintiff terminated the lease agreement." The other read "Because the premises were posted no award is made for money damages" was changed to "On today's date there is a finding of rent and back trash fees due and owing."
If the original claim doesn't state there was back rent owed, why would the order state there was back rent and trash fees.

The docket entries show

09/09/2015 NOA Filed in Appellate Court
Notice of Appeal Acknowledgement Letter emailed to Greene County Circuit Clerk.
Division Assigned

09/08/2015 NOA Filed in Circuit Court
Filing Fee Paid

If the eviction occurred on 9-9-15, there is a chance that nobody received the email in time to stop the eviction.

Debby Johnson said...

As it goes, "If everyone is being an asshole to you, you're probably the problem."

legalschnauzer said...

Debby:

Not sure what point you are trying to make, but figured I would make an attempt at a response. If your comment is directed at me, I've never said "everyone is being an asshole" to me, or anything like that. In fact, quite a few people have been helpful and supportive of our efforts to expose corruption.

Not sure how much thought you put into your comment, but if you give it just a little, I think you will see that it's nonsense. Consider the plight of black Americans under Jim Crow laws. It was their fault that people acted like assholes toward them? Consider Jews under the Nazi regime in Germany? It was the Jews' fault that people brutalized them?

In my view, you either haven't given this much thought or you are an incredibly shallow individual.