Two men sue Dallas County sheriff for negligence, false arrest, defamation

By KCCI Staff

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    DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa (KCCI, KCCI-D2) — Two men who said they were hired to break into the Dallas County Courthouse are now suing the Dallas County Sheriff.

Gary DeMercurio and Justin Wynn filed the lawsuit against Sheriff Chad Leonard.

They worked for Coalfire Labs, a cybersecurity firm hired by the Iowa Judicial Branch to test the security of court facilities.

The men said their agreement with the state protected them from arrest. But when they broke into the Dallas County Courthouse in 2019 they said Leonard refused to honor that agreement.

DeMercurio and Wynn were jailed and criminally charged. Those charges were eventually dropped.

The two are suing Leonard for negligence, false arrest and defamation among other claims.

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