The owner of rural San Benito County ordnance manufacturing
company MK Ballistic Systems filed a $500,000 claim against the
county Monday alleging civil rights violations and that the county
was negligent in its hiring practice of a special investigator for
the District Attorney’s Office.
Hollister – The owner of rural San Benito County ordnance manufacturing company MK Ballistic Systems filed a $500,000 claim against the county Monday alleging civil rights violations and that the county was negligent in its hiring practice of a special investigator for the District Attorney’s Office.
The county has 90 days to respond to owner Mike Keith’s claim that it violated his Fourth Amendment rights when law enforcement agents raided his company last year, because District Attorney Special Investigator William “Andy” Simpson falsely claimed to be a peace officer when requesting a search warrant. If the county rejects the claim, Keith could sue for $500,000.
Keith, whose name is the only one listed on the claim, did not return calls to the Free Lance Tuesday. Keith hired criminal defense attorney Greg LaForge after several regulatory and law enforcement agencies raided his company last December, confiscating an illegal short-barrel shotgun and dozens of soil samples to test for chemical contamination.
LaForge, who is not representing Keith in the civil claim against the county, was not surprised to learn about the allegations.
“I feel his claim is meritorious,” LaForge said Tuesday. “In my reading of his claim and my reviewing of this case, it appears that there was an unreasonable search and seizure based on the face of the search warrant.”
Although no criminal charges have been filed against Keith, LaForge is representing him and has already demanded the return of the seized short-barrel shotgun and soil samples.
District Attorney John Sarsfield ordered the raid as part of a wider crack down on environmental offenders, but was later chastised by the county Board of Supervisors because Simpson wasn’t qualified to act as an investigator.
Simpson claimed to be a police officer on the warrant he signed, but later investigation by the county revealed that he was not certified to act as one. In his claim, Keith alleges that the county was negligent by hiring an unqualified investigator and for violating his Fourth Amendment right, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure.
Sarsfield believes Keith’s claim is an attempt to take attention away from the chemical contamination on his property and said Simpson was fully qualified to act as an investigator.
“It’s a pretty dumb thing to do, but I’m not surprised. We’re drafting a civil complaint against Mr. Keith for several environmental violations at this moment,” Sarsfield said. “He could be facing millions of dollars in environmental penalties.”
Sarsfield has stood behind his decision to hire Simpson and the legality of the search warrant despite criticism from LaForge and some Supervisors, who were concerned the search was illegal and could open the county up to a lawsuit.
“Simpson was very-well qualified and Keith was never harmed – bomb makers have little or no right to privacy – we didn’t even need to have a warrant,” Sarsfield said. “Let him sue, he’s getting some bad legal advice, but that’s his right.”
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz, who has been concerned about the county’s liability in the case for several months, said Keith’s claim couldn’t come at a worse time.
“We are $5 million in the red – any potential lawsuit expenses will increase that deficit and put further burden on the tax payers,” he said. “The law says that we, as a board, are responsible for the district attorney’s actions, but there is very little we can do.”
Supervisor Reb Monaco had also been concerned about the county’s liability regarding Simpson.
“The $500,000 figure surprises me, but the lawsuit doesn’t,” he said. “I don’t think that we could have done more to prevent this, the district attorney is autonomous.”
Supervisor Anthony Botelho, who had spoken out against Sarsfield’s decision to hire and employ Simpson last month, declined to comment on the case because it was considered pending litigation. Supervisor Don Marcus also declined to comment before speaking with County Counsel Irma Valencia. Valencia did not return several phone calls to the Free Lance Tuesday.
Supervisor Pat Loe did not return phone calls to the Free Lance Tuesday.
Although Sarsfield said he hasn’t decided whether or not to file criminal charges against Keith for possession of an illegal firearm, he is planning to file civil charges against Keith and MK Ballistics for environmental violations. A report by the Department of Toxic Substance Control obtained by the Free Lance stated that “during the investigation the Department observed serious violations of the Hazardous Waste Control Law.” The DTSC also found perchlorate contamination in several of the soil samples it analyzed after the raid. Perchlorate, both a natural and man-made chemical that is often a by-product of rocket propellant, can interfere with thyroid hormones affecting growth development and mental function, according to the California Department of Health Services.
Keith previously told the Free Lance the site on which MK Ballistics operates has been used by several different companies over the past 50 years. He adamantly denied allegations that his company’s actions polluted the environment and said any contamination found on the site was from the previous landowner.
