CARSON CITY MAN AWARDED $20,000 FOR BUST MISTAKE

A Carson City man whose apartment was mistakenly raided by drug agents was
awarded $20,000 on Tuesday by the state Board of Examiners.

Also awarded damages were a man whose rights were violated by Nevada
Division of Investigation officers and a trucker whose trailer was wrecked
at an underpass.

Secretary of State Dean Heller said the damage claims raise serious concerns
whether some agencies know the extent of the legal problems they create for
the state.

"Some of these raise red flags," he said." All three should have been
avoidable."

Joseph Malone was awarded $20,000 after state agents burst into his Carson
City apartment on Long Street shortly after 6 a.m. in December 2000, pulled
him and his girlfriend Katrina Noah out of bed, handcuffed them and forced
them to lie on the floor.

It took Tri-Net narcotics agents about 10 minutes to realize they had broken
down the wrong door in attempting to make a methamphetamine arrest. The
apartment they were looking for was across the street in the same complex.

"It was supposed to be a 10-month investigation," Noah said at the time.
"You'd think they can get the address right."

In another case, William Barks was taken in for questioning twice by state
investigators during February. Each session lasted about 40 minutes, yet
Barks was never informed of his rights, never told that he could leave and
denied permission to have his attorney present.

He was awarded $25,000 by the board consisting of Heller, Gov. Kenny Guinn
and Attorney General Brian Sandoval.

Finally, the board approved $50,000 for damages to a truck owned by Sierra
Pacific Power Co. Since the truck's load was 15-feet, 9-inches high, the
trucker saw no problem in driving under an overpass marked as having 16 feet
6 inches of clearance. He had the necessary oversized load permits and had
contacted the Nevada Department of Transportation.

Unfortunately, the sign on the overpass was wrong. It was only 15 feet 5
inches high and seriously damaged the breaker being transported on the
truck.

Heller said that some of those problems seem to show up again and again. He
asked what efforts are made to ensure that agencies learn from their
mistakes.

"There's always been somewhat of a disconnect between the claim and
follow-up," said Director of Administration Perry Comeaux. He said the tort
claim is handled by the Attorney General's Office but that risk management
is under his department.

He said there is no formal process to make sure agencies get the message
after a claim is filed.

He agreed the state needs to work on the problem.