Some charges dismissed in Yancey case
KNOXVILLE — A federal magistrate has granted a partial approval to a defense motion for summary judgment in the John John Yancey civil lawsuit, in the process dismissing claims brought against all defendants with the exception of former Scott County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Marty Carson.
In a Thursday ruling, Judge Thomas Varlan granted the motion for summary judgment with respect to former Sheriff Jim Carson, former Chief Detective Robby Carson, former deputies Donnie Phillips and Carl Newport, and Scott County.
An attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit — chief of which is John John Yancey’s widow, Lori Yancey — had conceded that they had not developed sufficient admissible evidence against all individual defendants with the exception of Marty Carson, Scott County and the State of Tennessee.
In also dismissing the claims being brought against Scott County, Judge Varlan concluded that the plaintiffs, “Have failed to allege a custom or policy attributable to Scott County which caused John Yancey’s death.”
Summary judgment was also denied for the State of Tennessee, which is also listed as a co-defendant in the lawsuit. The court concluded that, “Even if it was defendant Marty Carson’s intent to murder his partner, as alleged by plaintiff, he was nevertheless doing so under color of state law.”
In denying the request for summary judgment in respect to Marty Carson, the court opined that there “are questions of material fact that remain to be determined,” and that those questions should be answered by a jury.
On Monday, attorney David S. Wigler, representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, entered a motion asking the court to reconsider dismissing the claims against Scott County, stating that the court “declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiff’s claim against Scott County.”
Sgt. John John Yancey was shot and killed during the investigation of a methamphetamine lab at a mobile home on Williams Creek Road in Oneida. It was later revealed that the fatal shot was fired by Marty Carson, who was Yancey’s partner.
At a press conference five days after Sgt. Yancey’s death, District Attorney General Wm. Paul Phillips painted a picture of mass confusion inside the mobile home when Yancey died, saying that Carson had unintentionally shot Yancey and that an investigation by the TBI had cleared Carson of wrongdoing.
In filing her $10 million wrongful death suit 12 months later, Lori Yancey claimed that Carson intentionally killed Yancey, and that the four individual co-defendants conspired to cover up details of her late husband’s death. According to court records, Yancey also claimed that the D.A.’s office and TBI were involved in the cover-up.
It was initially claimed that Carson had killed Yancey to prevent him from running against Carson’s father, Jim Carson, in the 2006 sheriff’s election. Later, two additional witnesses — both of them former inmates at the Scott County Jail — were produced by the plaintiffs, each of whom has entered a statement claiming to have been aware of illegal drug trafficking involving Carson. Those statements developed a second motive claimed by the plaintiffs: That Carson intentionally killed Yancey after Yancey gained knowledge of Carson’s drug involvement.
Carson has denied those claims.
One of those witnesses, Richard Babb, was attacked at his Oneida home earlier this month, an attack he says was prompted by his status as a witness in the Yancey court case. Local and federal authorities are investigating the attack.
Meanwhile, the court case will proceed in federal court next month, with Marty Carson and the State of Tennessee as the only co-defendants. All other defendants originally listed are exonerated by the court’s ruling. By state law, those claims cannot be brought again against those co-defendants.