An Oktibbeha County supervisor’s “unrestrained rage” set her on a “search-and-destroy mission” against a former Starkville police investigator’s character and job security, according to a civil complaint filed in circuit court.
John Michael Lay filed a defamation lawsuit in September against District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller, claiming, among other things, that Miller had helped force his departure from Starkville Police Department, kept him from getting a job at Mississippi State University and then filed a formal complaint against him with Pearl Police Department, where he currently works. He is seeking at least $250,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.
Miller was served this week, according to documents filed in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
Lay’s complaint claims the issues with Miller began in September 2022, when the defendant first accused him of conspiring with her now ex-husband, Donnie Miller, to defraud her out of thousands of dollars. A civil complaint is only one side of a legal argument.
A motion filed by Bricklee Miller in hers and Donnie’s subsequent divorce proceedings said Lay assisted Donnie in transferring $50,000 from a joint checking account to Donnie’s cattle company.
Lay’s complaint says Donnie Miller fell and hit his head on Sept. 5, 2022, causing him to stay in a Jackson hospital for about a week. Donnie was arrested Sept. 12 for an alleged incident of domestic abuse against his wife, and he was booked in Oktibbeha County Jail.
Lay, a SPD investigations sergeant and a close friend of the Millers at the time, went to the jail Sept. 14 to check on Donnie, the complaint says – a wellness check due to his recent injury but also because Lay “knew Mr. Miller was an alcoholic who could suffer from delirium tremens.” He wanted to discuss connecting Donnie with a rehab facility.
During that visit, Donnie asked Lay to pick up a check from Donnie’s father. He obtained the check, brought it back to the jail for Donnie’s signature, then took it back to Donnie’s father. The complaint says he believed the check to be for Donnie’s business and did not recall another account holder being listed on the check. Further, Lay claims he did not see Donnie in person when he brought the check to the jail.
The next day, SPD Chief Mark Ballard told Lay he would be suspended for “being too loud” during an arrest, something for which he had previously been told he wouldn’t be disciplined, according to the civil complaint. Ballard also informed Lay of a verbal complaint lodged by Bricklee Miller related to the check.
Ballard later met with Bricklee at the Mississippi Horse Park, where she is director. After that meeting, Ballard told Lay it would be impossible for him to return to his job, and Lay resigned.
Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch on Wednesday the city does not comment publicly on personnel matters, but it would comply with appropriate requests for discovery in the case.
Lay then applied to work for the MSU Police Department and was told in October an offer letter was coming, his complaint says. He learned the offer was withdrawn a few days later. Lay claims “upon information and belief” it was at least partly due to Bricklee telling the MSU police chief and possibly other university officials he had conspired to defraud her.
The complaint says Bricklee, knowing the damage this would cause Lay and his family, was aware MSU offers tuition discounts to employees and their children. It claims she also knew he planned to seek a master’s degree and that his children and step-children would have qualified for the discounts both presently and in the coming years.
Lay was unemployed for nearly four months before starting work in January for Pearl Police Department, his complaint says. He lives in an apartment in Pearl while he is working and drives to see his family in Starkville when he is off, all while making less than he did at SPD.
“This has placed a strain on (Lay’s) marriage, mental health and general wellbeing,” the complaint says.
In April, Lay was subpoenaed to testify in the Millers’ divorce case, but the chancery judge took exception to him being called to the stand, since he had already testified on the same matters in an unrelated case. The complaint says this “enraged” Bricklee, who “resumed her search-and-destroy mission” with a verbal complaint to the Pearl assistant police chief. In it, she claimed Lay was stalking her and had conspired to defraud her. At the assistant chief’s direction, Bricklee filed her grievance in writing, and it was “summarily dismissed,” according to the lawsuit.
Lay’s civil complaint characterizes all of Bricklee’s efforts against him as “malicious.”
“Merely because (Lay) had dared to check on (Bricklee’s) husband in jail, (Bricklee), acting with unrestrained rage, recklessly jumped to conclusions and defamed (Lay), knowing full well that her lies would cause grave damage,” the complaint says.
Speaking with The Dispatch on Wednesday, Shane McLaughlin, the Tupelo attorney representing Bricklee, called the lawsuit baseless.
“We dispute the allegations in the complaint,” he said. “… We intend to vigorously defend this in the courtroom.”
Tupelo attorney Michael Wilson, who is representing Lay, declined to comment further on the lawsuit when speaking Tuesday with The Dispatch, instead allowing the complaint to speak for itself.
Lifestyles Editor Abigail Sipe Rochester contributed to this report.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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