suit to have da meg heap removed from chatham county jail probe, indictments

General Civil Case Filing Information Form (Non-Domestic)

Court County CHATHAM Date Filed oltd.) ~/ i:OtS MM-DD-YYYY[Q' Superior

Docket# (;V15 / O~1Q.( KAo State

PlaintitT(s) Defendant(s)

AJIBADE, ADENIKE H. Last First Middle I.

AJIBADE, SOLOMON O. Last First Middle I.

OLADAPO, CHRISTOPHER Last First Middk 1.

Suffix Prefix

Sutlix Prefix

Suffix Pft:fix

Maiden

Maiden

Maidt:n

HEAP,MEG Last First Middle I. SUftlX Prdix Maiden

IN HER CAPACITY AS EASTERN JUDICIAL CIRCUIT Last First Middle I. Suftix Prefix Maiden

DISTRICT ATTORNEY Last First Middk 1. Suffix Prefix Maiden

Last First Middle 1. Suffix Prefix Maiden Last First Middle I. Suffix Prefix Maiden

No. of Plaintiffs 3 No. of Defendants---

PlaintifflPetitioner's Attorney o Pro Se

CLAIBORNE, WILLIAM R. Last First Middle [ sumx

Bar # 126363

Check Primary Type (Check only ONE)

o Contract/Account

o Wills/Estate

o Real Property

o Dispossessory/Distress

o Presonal Property

'0 Equity

o Habeas Corpus

o Appeals, Reviews

o Post Judgement Garnishment, Attachment, or

Other ReI ief

o Non-Domestic Contempt

o Tort (If tort, fill in right column)

II! Other General Civil SpecifY Disqualification

pursuant to O.C.GA 15-18-5

IfTort is Case Type: (Check no more than TWO)

0 Auto Accident

0 Premises Liability

0 Medical Malpractice

0 Other Professional Negligence

0 Product Liability

0 Other SpecifY

Are Punitive Damages Pleaded? 0 Yes 0 No

~ I hereby certify that the documents in this filing

(including attachments and exhibits) satisfy the

requirements for redaction of personal or

confidential information in O.e.G.A. 9-11-7.1

ENTERED JPK JUN - 9 2015

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CHATHAM COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

ADENIKE HANNAH AJIBADE, ) SOLOMON OLUDAMISI AJIBADE, and ) CHRISTOPHER OLADAPO, )

) Plaintiffs, ) Civil Action No.: CVlS- bS ~ It -J3

) v. )

) "'-=> c::;)MEG HEAP IN HER CAPACITY AS ) c.n pg

EASTERN JUDICIAL CIRCUIT ) ' B ~DISTRICT ATTORNEY; ) ~ I ~)

"" .:sDefendant. ) ~ ~ :z ::::0) .,.... a:> :-;;) N §5) N c::::5

PETITION FOR MANDAMUS AND DISQUALIFICATION

COME NOW PLAINTIFFS, Adenike Hannah Ajibade, Solomon Oludamisi Ajibade, and

. Christopher Oladapo, and file this Petition for Mandamus and Disqualification against Defendant

Meg Heap ("Heap") in her capacity as Chatham County District Attorney, showing the Court as

follows:

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs file this Petition pursuant to O.C.G.A § 15-18-5 seeking the disqualification

of Defendant Heap and the office of the Eastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney from

any further action in investigating or presenting criminal charges based upon the actions

which caused the death of Mathew Ajibade and for the appointment of District Attorney

pro tempore in all matters related to the death of Mathew Ajibade.

Page 1 of 12 Ajibade, et al. v. Meg Heap

Superior Court of Chatham County


JURISDICTION AND VENUE

1.

This is an action brought pursuant to O.CG.A. § 15-18-5. This Court has jurisdiction to

entertain the Plaintiffs action.

2.

For purposes of venue, all Defendant Heap is a resident of Chatham County, Georgia and

Chatham County, Georgia is the county in which a substantial part of the business described

below was transacted. O.CG.A. §9-10-93; Ga. Const. Art. VI, § 2, ~ VI. Venue is proper in this

Court.

PARTIES

3.

Plaintiffs are the immediate surviving family members of Mathew Ajibade, an arrestee

who was killed while in the custody of Chatham County Sheriff deputies in early 2015.

4.

Defendant Meg Heap is the District Attorney for the Eastern Judicial Circuit and is

subject to suit in actions of this kind and nature. Defendant Heap may be served through her

office at: 133 Montgomery St., 6th Floor, Savannah, Georgia.

COUNT I DISQUALIFICATION OF DEFENDANT HEAP

AND THE OFFICE OF THE EASTERN CIRCUIT DISTRICT ATTORNEY

5.

Plaintiffs repeat and re-allege paragraphs 1-4 as though fully set forth herein.



6.

Pursuant to O.e.G.A. § 15-18-5(a), a District Attorney is disqualified from a case when

he or she has an interest in the outcome of the case or a relationship with either the victim or the

accused.

DEFENDANT HEAP'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ACCUSED SHERIFF IN SPCV1S-0441-J3

7.

On May 4, 2015, Defendant Heap and Sheriff Al St. Lawrence sued WSAV, Inc. in the

Superior Court of Chatham County. Said suit, SPCVI5-0441-J3, seeks a declaratory judgment

that neither Defendant Heap nor Sheriff St. Lawrence be required to release information to

WSAV, Inc. under the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A § 50-18-70 et seq.

8.

WSAV, Inc. did not request any records from Defendant Heap. However, Defendant

Heap voluntarily inserted herself into the controversy between WSA V and Sheriff St. Lawrence.

9.

Defendant Heap and Sheriff St. Lawrence are co-plaintiffs in SPCV 15-0441-J3 and even

share the same attorney in said suit.

10.

The Plaintiffs in this action have intervened in SPCV 15-0441-J3 and are Defendants in

said case.



11.

The Ajibade family has claims against Defendant Heap and Sheriff St. Lawrence which

have been asserted in SPCVI5-0441-J3.

12.

Thus, Defendant Heap is embroiled in contested litigation against the Ajibade family, the

surviving family of the victim in the criminal case.

13.

Sheriff St. Lawrence, is a potential defendant in the criminal case, and his actions and/or

inactions should be under investigation by Defendant Heap.

a. It has been widely reported that 195 inmates were tased in the Chatham County Jail in

2014, a rate far higher than were tased, for example, by the Savannah-Chatham

Metropolitan Police Department or were tased at the at the Richmond County Jail.

Failure to institute proper policies for the use of tasers should subject the Sheriff to

criminal charges.

b. Video has been released showing several of the CCSO officers who participated in

the killing of Mathew Ajibade engaging in violence and excessive force against other

inmates both before and after Mathew Ajibade's death. Creating a culture of violence

and sadism should subject the Sheriff to criminal charges.

c. Instituting a policy of allowing restrained inmates to be tased should subject the

Sheriff to criminal charges.

d. It has been reported that the Watch Commander' s Log Book was altered

approximately fifteen to twenty-one hours after Mathew Ajibade was killed. If the



Sheriff allowed or encouraged the alterations of that log book to conceal the manner

in which Mathew Ajibade died, then the Sheriff should be subjected to criminal

charges.

14.

Both Defendant Heap and Sheriff St. Lawrence are seeking a court order debarring the

Ajibade family and the public from records which would reveal the circumstances of Mathew

Ajibade's death.

15.

By voluntarily inserting herself into SPCV15-0441-J3 on the side of a potential criminal

defendant and sharing a lawyer with that defendant, Defendant Heap has placed herself in

opposition to the victim's family.

16.

This alliance with a potential criminal defendant in opposition to the victim's family has

placed Defendant Heap in an impermissibly conflicted position, and she must be disqualified

from any further action in investigating or presenting criminal charges based upon the

actions which caused the death of Mathew Ajibade.

DEFENDANT HEAP'S POLITICAL ALLIANCE WITH THE ACCUSED SHERIFF

17.

Sheriff St. Lawrence contributed to the election campaign of Defendant Heap twice in

2012.



18.

Defendant Heap and Sheriff St. Lawrence both employed David Simons as their political

consultant and campaigned in concert with one another in 2012.

DEFENDANT HEAP'S REFUSAL TO INVESTIGATE OR PROSECUTE HER POLITICAL ALLIES AND/OR SUPPORTERS

19.

Since becoming District Attorney, Defendant Heap has failed or refused to investigate or

prosecute individuals or entities that are also represented by her political consultant, David

Simons. Further, Defendant Heap has failed or refused to investigate or prosecute individuals or

entities that contributed to her election 2012 campaign.

20.

Defendant Heap received a campaign contribution from Walter Murphy of the company

lE. Dunn Construction d/b/a Rives Worrell. David Simons was the lobbyist for said company at

all times relevant to this litigation.

21.

Defendant Heap has failed to investigate or prosecute one or more employees of lE.

Dunn Construction d/b/a Rives Worrell when false · statements were made on sworn bid

documents to secure a $21 million contract for the replacement of Hesse Elementary School.

22.

Defendant Heap received a campaign contribution from Jim Turner of the J.T. Turner

company.

Page 6 of 12 Ajibade, et aI. v. Meg Heap


23.

Defendant Heap has failed to investigate or prosecute one or more employees of J.T.

Turner when, upon infonnation and belief, false statements were made to property owners that

subcontractors had been paid, when in fact said subcontractors had not been paid.

24.

At all times relevant to this litigation, David Simons served as the lobbyist for both J.E.

DUlUl Construction d/b/a Rives Worrell and several other corporations. David Simons was paid

by these corporations.

25.

Additionally, David Simons served as a campaIgn consultant for VarIOUS political

candidates, including, but not limited to, Defendant Heap and Sheriff St. Lawrence. The

political candidates paid David Simons.

26.

Although drawing a salary from the campaigns of Defendant Heap and Sheriff St.

Lawrence and other political candidates, David Simons would also donate money back to all of

the campaign committees from which he was being paid. Rather than donating back a portion of

his salary, David Simons was serving as a straw donor for the corporations for which he lobbied.

27.

Failing to register as a lobbyist violates O.C.G.A. § 21-5-70 et seq. Masking campaign

contributions violates O.C.G.A. § 21-5-30 et seq. Notwithstanding these violations of law by

David Simons, and the personal knowledge of Defendant Heap that these laws were being

violated, Defendant Heap has failed to investigate or prosecute David Simons.

Page 7 of 12 Ajibade, et at. v. Meg Heap


28.

Due to Defendant Heap's failure or refusal to prosecute her campaign contributors, David

Simons, and/or clients of David Simons, the Plaintiffs have a real and reasonable fear that

Defendant Heap will not investigate the death of Mathew Ajibade fairly and impartially.

29.

Specifically, the Ajibade family IS afraid that Defendant Heap has chosen not to

investigate Sheriff St. Lawrence.

30.

Defendant Heap performed no investigation into this case for approximately five months

after Mathew Ajibade's death. Rather, Defendant Heap ignored her responsibility to review and

investigate the criminal death of an inmate in her jurisdiction, and instead deferred her

responsibilities to other law enforcement agencies, opting to sidestep an investigation which

would have led to the doorstep of Sheriff St Lawrence, and, eventually, to her own failures

regarding her obligations to inspect the Chatham County Jail.

31.

Since receiving an investigative report from the GBI, Defendant Heap and Sheriff St.

Lawrence have openly coordinated with each other in an attempt to shift one hundred percent of

the blame for Mathew's death onto lower ranking officers and to conceal information from the

Ajibade family and public records from the public.



32.

For the foregoing reasons Defendant Heap must be disqualified from any further action

in investigating or presenting criminal charges based upon the actions which caused the

death of Mathew Ajibade.

DEFENDANT HEAP'S INTEREST IN THE OUTCOME OF THE CASE

33.

The Chatham County Grand Jury has a duty under O.e.G.A. § 15-12-71(b)(1) to conduct

an annual inspection of the Chatham County Jail.

34.

Defendant Heap and her staff supervise the Grand Jury and coordinate the Grand Jury's

operations.

35.

Notwithstanding O.C.G.A. § 15-12-71(b)(1), Defendant Heap, since being sworn in as

District Attorney in 2013, has failed to instruct the Grand Jury to inspect the Chatham County

Jail.

36.

Rather, Defendant Heap and her staff inform the Grand Jurors that there is an "optional

tour" of the j ail, which they may attend at their discretion.

37.

Defendant Heap and her staff coordinate the date of the "tour," provide transportation to

and from the jail, one or more staff members of the DA's office attend the "tour."



38.

Further, no report of the Chatham County Grand Jury reflecting an inspection ofthe Jail's

operations has been filed with the Chatham County Superior Court in more than one year prior to

Mathew Ajibade's death.

39.

The Ajibade family will be filing a civil suit against any and all parties responsible for

Mathew's death. Due to her failure to ensure inspections of the jail as required by law, there is a

significant probability that Defendant Heap will be named as a defendant in that action by the

Ajibade family.

40.

A District Attorney may not participate in the prosecution of a case where the District

Attorney has a personal interest in the outcome of the case. See McLaughlin v. Payne, 761 SE

2d 289 (2014). The conflict of the individual District Attorney attaches to the entire office of the

District Attorney, Id.

41.

The fact that Defendant Heap will likely be named as a defendant in the Ajidabe civil suit

gives her an interest in the outcome of the criminal case arising from the same transaction or

occurrence, to wit: the death of Mathew Ajibade.

COUNT II MANDAMUS AGAINST DEFENDANT HEAP

42.

Plaintiffs repeat and re-allege paragraphs 1-41 as though fully set forth herein.

Page 10 of 12 Ajibade, et at. v. Meg Heap


43.

O.C.G.A. § IS-18-S(a) provides as follows:

(a) When a district attorney's office is disqualified from interest or relationship to engage in a prosecution, the district attorney shall notify the Attorney General of the disqualification. Upon receipt of such notification, the Attorney General shall:

(1) Request the services of and thereafter appoint a district attorney, a solicitor-general, or a retired prosecuting attorney as provided in Code Section 15-18-30;

(2) Designate an attorney from the Department of Law; or (3) Appoint a competent attorney to act as district attorney pro tempore in

place of the district attorney.

44.

For the reasons stated above, Defendant Heap must be ordered by this Court to notify the

Georgia Attorney General that she is disqualified from further participation in investigating or

presenting criminal charges based upon the actions which caused the death of Mathew

Ajibade.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs request they be afforded the following relief:

(a) That this Court enter an Order requiring the immediate disqualification of the Office of

the District Attorney for the Eastern Judicial Circuit from further participation in

investigating or presenting criminal charges based upon the actions which caused

the death of Mathew Ajibade;

(b) That this Court enter an Order directing Defendant Heap to notify the Georgia Attorney

General of her disqualification from further participation in investigating or presenting

criminal charges based upon the actions which caused the death of Mathew

Ajibade;

Page 1 J of 12 Ajibade, et al. v. Meg Heap


(c) Any and all other relief as the Court deems just and proper.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 9th day of June, 2015.

~c{i{tGeorgia Bar No. 126363 Attorney for Plaintiff

THE CLAIBORNE FIRM, P.C. 410 East Bay Street Savannah, Georgia 3 1401 T: (912) 236-9559 F: (912) 236-1884 [email protected]



mailto:[email protected]

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CHtOQ:~l\;l~QUNTY STATE OF GEOR&A: I'. Ur, IL'-.

) 701 JW~ -9 11 10: 07

05?J~ -J3

ADENIKE HANNAH AJIBADE, SOLOMON OLUDAMISI AJIBADE, and ) CHRISTOPHER OLADAPO,

Plaintiffs,

v.

MEG HEAP IN HER CAPACITY AS EASTERN JUDICIAL CIRCUIT DISTRICT ATTORNEY;

Defendant.

CERTIFICATION UNDER RULE 3.2

Pursuant to Rules 3.2 and 3.4 of the Uniform Superior Court Rules and Local Rules of

the Eastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia, I hereby certify that there has been a case filed in the

Superior Court of the Eastern Judicial Circuit of Georgia, Al St. Lawrence. Sheriff of Chatham

County; Meg Heap. Eastern Judicial Circuit District Attorney v. WSA V, Inc .. Civil Action

Number: CV15-0441-J3, involving substantially the same parties or substantially the same

subject matter or substantially the same factual issues which would require the pleading to be

specifically assigned to the judge whom the original action was or is assigned.

Respectfully submitted, this 9th day of June, 2015.

T~~___.C. WILLIAM R. CLAIBORNE Georgia Bar Number: 126363 Attorney for Plaintiffs

410 East Bay Street Savannah, Georgia 31401 (912) 236-9559 Telephone (912) 236-1884 Facsimile wi [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CHATHAM COUNTY ST ATE OF GEORGIA

ADENIKE HANNAH AJIBADE, SOLOMON OLUDAMISI AJIBADE, and CHRISTOPHER OLADAPO,

Plaintiffs,

v.


Defendant.

) ) ) ) ) Civil Action No.: CVlS- OS?;') -J3 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

SUMMONS

TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT:

MEG HEAP IN HER CAPACITY AS EASTERN JUDICIAL CIRCUIT DISTRICT A ITORNEY

133 MONTGOMERY STREET, 6TH FLOOR SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31401

You are hereby summoned and required to file with the Clerk of said court and serve upon the Plaintiffs attorney, whose name and address is:

THE CLAIBORNE FIRM, P.e. 410 EAST BAY STREET

SAVANNAH GEORGA 31401

an answer to the complaint which is herewith served upon you, within 30 days after service of summons upon you, exclusive of the day of service. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.

This 9th day of June, 2015. Clerk of Superior Court CHATHAM COUNTY


IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CHATHAM COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA

ADENIKE HANNAH AJIBADE, SOLOMON OLUDAMISI AJIBADE, and CHRISTOPHER OLADAPO,

Plaintiffs,

v.


Defendant.

) ) ) ) ) Civil Action No.: CVlS- 05?J~ -J3 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

SUMMONS

TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT:

MEG HEAP IN HER CAPACITY AS EASTERN JUDICIAL CIRCUIT DISTRICT ATTORNEY

133 MONTGOMERY STREET, 6TH FLOOR SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 31401

Filed in the Clerk's Office this 9th day of June, 2015.

C

William R. Claiborne PLAINTIFFS ATTORNEY

==========================

--------------------

----------------------------

----------------

C 1 • : 165:::::::21 FILED OR RECORD

IN CHATHAM SUPERIOR CO~T'09/2015 0::: :22.~.rJI PAID: 210 .00

TERM D .~. ni e1 '.'1. t'1<o. :::.:::.~~/ ~ C1 txl:: Superiot- Court of Chat ham County Chatham County ~ Georgia

AdUl/-t<t 11 flnnath Aj,'IJadt, Ltr()0/

VS.

ORIGINAL

Filed in the Clerk's Office this q.ft day of __~f7.Jfll, _____",J>L___ tJ(J'5

PLAINTIFF'S ATIORNEY

ENTERED JPK JUN - 92015

suit to have da meg heap removed from chatham county jail probe, indictments

Documents