EXTRA CONTENT: Men who were accused of fighting dogs now suing Laurel deputy

Read the entire text of the lawsuit by clicking here.

Two men accused by authorities and later exonerated of fighting dogs at a southern Laurel County home in mid-2008 are suing the Laurel County Sheriff’s Department and the Deputy who arrested them for malicious prosecution, false arrest and slander.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in London Aug. 12, Joe C. Lewis Jr., 61, and Dalton Brewer, 26, accuse Laurel County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Sapcut, both individually and in his official capacity, of wrongfully convincing a grand jury to indict them for animal cruelty. Both men, and Lewis’ son, Joe Lewis III, were indicted last year by a Laurel County Grand Jury on one count of first-degree animal cruelty. Prosecutors dropped the charge against Joe Lewis, Jr. Brewer and Joe Lewis III were acquitted in June.

Sapcut and other officers went to a home on Adams Road in Laurel County the night of June 24 after a neighbor called 911 claiming Joe Lewis III and Brewer were fighting pit bulls in their backyards. The two claimed they were simply separating their dog "Crown" from a stray that had wandered into the yard.

Joe Lewis Jr. was, a resident of Bell County, was visiting his grandson at the home and was spending he night.
All three were indicted Aug. 15, 2008 and a warrant for their arrest was executed Aug. 22.

Through their attorney, Brenda Popplewell, both men say Sapcut propagated false stories that the two men were part of a dog-fighting ring and that they fought dogs regularly for amusement. They also accuse him of undertaking an inept criminal investigation into the matter.

"Defendant Sapcut took a weak and poorly investigated case and fabricated a fictitious, grandiose dog fighting ring – including sixty-seven dogs – and convinced the Grand Jury indict the Plaintiff," the lawsuit states. "Defendant Sapcut intentionally and negligently investigated the case, intentionally and negligently prepared a police report, intentionally and negligently testified falsely to the grand jury, and intentionally and negligently testified falsely to the jury – all causing Plaintiffs to be arrested and prosecuted."

The lawsuit quotes recordings from Grand Jury testimony in which Sapcut tells jurors Brewer was "well known for dog fighting in Whitley County" and that he had "reports from the Whitley County animal shelter that Mr. Brewer" had been fighting dogs at a church in the county and that dead dogs, the losers of these fights, were found behind the church.

Popplewell characterizes the statements as "bizarre, disgusting and untruthful" and contends he should have known his case was too weak to take to the grand jury.

The lawsuit claims the men have suffered mental and physical anguish because of the charges. Brewer claims to have paid $20,000 for his criminal defense at trial.

The lawsuit also seeks compensation for "defamatory statements" made by Sapcut regarding the two men. It asks damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and a trial by jury.

No response has yet been filed in the case.