A COUPLE says they were forced to move out of their home of 30 years following an illegal police raid that saw deputies taking thousands of dollars.
An Alabama jury decided that two Randolph County deputies owe Gregory and Teresa Almond money over the illegal search and use of excessive force in the drug raid six years ago.
According to a federal lawsuit filed in March 2019, a deputy with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office went to the Almonds’ home to serve Greg Almond with civil papers on January 31, 2018.
The deputy reported that he smelled marijuana at the home, according to the complaint.
The RCSO drug task force returned later that day, kicking down the Almonds’ front door before throwing a shock explosive device into the living room, the lawsuit read.
Greg Almond’s legal team said the device detonated at his feet, causing pieces of tile to explode at him and throwing him to the ground.
Using a flashbang explosive device isn’t normal for this kind of operation, a judge wrote in a September 2022 filing.
Deputies entered the home with one of them threatening to put a bullet through Greg Almond’s skull before handcuffing him, said officials.
After searching the home, law enforcement officials found a small marijuana plant, part of a joint, leaves in a cooler, and a glass pipe outside in the grill, according to case records.
The Almonds claim deputies took $8,000 in cash, a Lunesta pill, a diamond wedding ring, guns, a coin collection, and guitars.
The couple was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and felony possession of a controlled substance, according to the lawsuit.
However, the marijuana belonged to the Almonds’ son, who told Randolph County deputies that it was his.
Greg Almond also said he had a prescription for Lunesta, which is used to treat insomnia.
The Almonds were bonded out of jail, however, they said their home of three decades was ransacked, said officials.
The charges were later dropped, however, their complaint claims that things didn’t return to the way they were before.
Because of the seized money, the Almonds were unable to pay their mortgage and lost their home due to repossession, forcing them to live in a shed on their family’s nearby property, a judge wrote.
The Almonds said only some of the money and items were returned to them.
Over 40 guns and $4,050 were documented in an inventory report, and the property was returned to the couple when the charges were dropped, said officials.
However, the couple claims deputies took more money and items than what was documented.
But deputies claimed thieves in the night could have taken the other pieces of property, which a judge said was a reasonable claim after the Almonds found their front door open, and there had been four break-ins at their home within the last year.
Whether or not the deputies had a search warrant to begin with was also a point of contention.
Conflicting accounts from a deputy and a judge have made it unclear whether a warrant had been formally issued by the time of the search.
Some of the Almonds’ claims were dismissed by the judge and defendants but allowed judgment to continue against the two deputies.
On January 25, the Almonds received compensatory damages from the illegal search claim, while Greg Almond was awarded punitive damages related to the flashbang device.
I’d like to see it where no one else would have to go through something like this, he told Reason Magazine.
It would be one thing if I had been running some kind of drug enterprise or something, but that’s just not the case.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
