A case filed against Lowndes County by Clifton Jones and Dewayne Nance, both of Pickens County, Ala., has been closed, at least for now. In a complaint filed April 4, 2009, the plaintiffs claim they were arrested by Lowndes County Sheriff’s Deputy Ivan Bryan on April 5, 2008 and were held in the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center for five days without probable cause, thereby violating their constitutional rights.
Court documents state Jones and Nance were arrested for possessing precursors (pseudoephedrine pills) on Saturday, April 5, 2008 at around 5 p.m. They were served warrants three days later and were released on bail April 9, 2008.
US District Judge for the Northern District of Mississippi Sharion Aycock ruled the LCSO had immunity and closed the case without a judgment for the plaintiffs in November 2010. The case was appealed to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Aycock’s ruling was upheld on April 18 of this year.
“The court found the defendants were immunized from any liabilities,” attorney for the plaintiffs Jeff Navarro of Amory said. “The 5th District Circuit of Appeals upheld this ruling. All we can do now is ask for another hearing or we can file an appeal to the US Supreme Court. Ultimately, it is up to my clients as to where, or if, we go from here.”
In August, Jones and Nance were indicted by the Lowndes County Grand Jury and charged with possession of precursors to manufacture methamphetamine. Both pled not guilty and are awaiting trial.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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