Myers v. County of Nassau

825 F. Supp. 2d 359, 2011 WL 5838453, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119460
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedOctober 7, 2011
DocketCV 08-1998
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 825 F. Supp. 2d 359 (Myers v. County of Nassau) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Myers v. County of Nassau, 825 F. Supp. 2d 359, 2011 WL 5838453, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119460 (E.D.N.Y. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WEXLER, District Judge.

This is a civil rights lawsuit arising out of Plaintiffs arrest and subsequent trial on a charge of murder. After Plaintiff was acquitted of the crime with which he was charged, he commenced this federal action. Plaintiff sets forth claims of false arrest, malicious prosecution, denial of his rights to remain silent and to counsel, and conspiracy to deprive Plaintiff of these rights. All of these federal claims are alleged pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”). Plaintiff also alleges pendent state claims sounding in the same causes of action. Named as Defendants are the County of Nassau (the “County”), Nassau County Detectives Michael O’Leary (“O’Leary”), and Cereghino (“Cereghino”) (collectively the “County Detectives”). Plaintiff also names as a Defendant the Village of Hempstead (the “Village”), Hempstead Detectives Thomas Salerno (“Salerno”), Dean Nicosia (“Nicosia”) and Kevin Cunningham (“Cunningham”), Hempstead Police Sargent Brian Jones (“Jones”) and Hempstead Police Officer Joseph Sortino (“Sortino”) (collectively the “Village Defendants”). Presently before the court is the motion of all Defendants for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

For the reasons that follow, the motion is granted on consent as to Defendant Cereghino, and for the reasons set forth below, as to all remaining Defendants.

BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background

Defendants’ motion papers indicate that the motions before the court are made pursuant to Rule 56 and/or to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(c)(1). Because discovery has long been closed, the court has considered the affidavits, depositions and trial testimony submitted in connection with this motion, and there has been fair notice to all parties that Defendants move for summary judgment, the court considers the motions pursuant to Rule 56. The facts set forth below are drawn from the above-references sources, and are construed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff.

*363 A. The Murder of Vincent Shelton and the Police Investigation

On May 12, 2004, an individual named Vincent Shelton (“Shelton”) was shot and killed in the vicinity of Stewart Avenue in Hempstead, New York. Hempstead Police Officers Jones and Sortino responded first to the scene. Shortly thereafter, Defendant Nassau County Detective O’Leary, who would became the lead detective on the case, responded to the scene of the murder. Just prior to succumbing to his wounds, Shelton was asked by Jones, “who did this to you?” The Hempstead responding officers state that no name was discernible, but that Shelton may have made a sound ending in either an “1” sound or an “eggh” sound. Myers states that Shelton identified an individual named Vincent McTootle as the killer. Plaintiff has submitted evidence indicating that McTootle was considered, but ruled out, as a suspect during the investigation of the Shelton murder.

The law enforcement officers continued to investigate the Shelton murder. While the Nassau Detectives took primary responsibility for the investigation, they were assisted by the Hempstead police. An important lead in the investigation was obtained by Defendant Hempstead Detective Nicosia within one day of the murder. At his deposition, Nicosia testified that a confidential informant with whom he had worked in the past, later identified as Joseph Perry, approached Nicosia with information about the murder. Detective Nicosia directed Perry to Detective O’Leary, who obtained a statement. In his statement, Perry described facts that transpired on the night of the murder in the apartment of a woman named Anna Flores.

During the course of the investigation of the murder, Detective O’Leary obtained statements from individuals familiar with the circumstances surrounding the night of the murder. Specifically, following up on Perry’s account, O’Leary obtained statements corroborating Perry’s version of events from those present at the Flores apartment, including Anna Flores and Ray Wooden. Additionally, O’Leary obtained a statement from an individual named Anthony Fore. Fore’s statement to O’Leary was made after his arrest for gun possession. While waiting to be processed for that charge, Fore had noticed a poster on the wall of the police precinct seeking information about the Shelton murder. Fore came forward with information that later formed the basis of a statement taken by O’Leary. The statements obtained by police agree upon a version of events, as described below, and indicated that Myers implicated himself in the Shelton shooting.

B. Plaintiffs Arrest, Indictment and Trial

Myers was not arrested for the Shelton murder until January 6, 2006. Part of the reason that Myers was not earlier arrested was because, after the Shelton murder, he began serving a sentence in connection with an unrelated matter at a correctional facility located in Riverhead, New York. On January 6, 2006, the day that he was released from the Riverhead facility, Myers was met in the parking lot adjacent to the facility, and was immediately arrested by Hempstead Detectives Nicosia and Salerno. Nicosia testified that he was instructed, on the morning of the arrest, to accompany Detective Salerno to pick up Myers on drug charges, and to transport him to the Hempstead police armory. Nicosia stated that while he and Salerno were awaiting Myers’ release, they noticed that Detective O’Leary was also in the parking lot. Nicosia was surprised to see O’Leary. Despite the presence of Nassau Detectives, Nicosia states that when *364 Myers was picked up, he and Salerno maintained the intent to transport him to Hempstead to answer for a drug charge.

When Myers was released from the Riverhead facility, he was met by a woman. When the woman saw that Myers was being arrested, she became, as described by Nicosia, “boisterous,” and began cursing at the officers. Despite the commotion, the Hempstead Detectives took Myers into their car and advised the woman that Myers was being transported to the Hempstead police armory. Nicosia testified that while in transit, he and Salerno received a phone call from the Nassau County police asking that they instead transport Myers to Nassau County police headquarters for questioning by O’Leary and Cereghino, in connection with the murder of Shelton. Nicosia testified that the first time that he and Salerno were advised of the change in destination from Hempstead to Nassau County was after Myers was placed in their vehicle Myers alleges, on the other hand, that Nicosia and Salerno knew, all along, that they would be delivering Myers to the custody of the Nassau Detectives investigating the Shelton murder.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Days v. Police Department
S.D. New York, 2025
Floyd v. Rosen
S.D. New York, 2022
Jackson v. Nassau County
E.D. New York, 2021
Ortiz v. Wagstaff
W.D. New York, 2021
Ferran v. City of Albany
N.D. New York, 2019
Garcia v. Semple
D. Connecticut, 2019
Morris v. Martin
N.D. New York, 2019
Thagard v. Lauber
317 F. Supp. 3d 669 (W.D. New York, 2018)
Ying Li v. City of New York
246 F. Supp. 3d 578 (E.D. New York, 2017)
Deanda v. Hicks
137 F. Supp. 3d 543 (S.D. New York, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
825 F. Supp. 2d 359, 2011 WL 5838453, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119460, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/myers-v-county-of-nassau-nyed-2011.