BORDERLAND

Judge tosses suit against Wood Co. prosecutor

4/5/2014

A federal court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Whitehouse man against the Wood County prosecutor and sheriff, alleging they violated his constitutional rights.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Helmick accepted the recommendation of Magistrate Judge James Knepp and dismissed the case against Prosecutor Paul Dobson, Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, and Deputies Terry James and Scott Koch filed in 2012 by Theodore J. Diver.

Mr. Diver, who was indicted on a charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity that was later dismissed, had accused the deputies of withholding evidence and maliciously prosecuting him. He alleged the sheriff and prosecutor failed to properly train and supervise their employees.

Attorney Teresa Grigsby, who represented the county, said she was confident both the sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices “handled matters concerning Mr. Diver in an entirely appropriate manner. The fact that the judge did not allow the case to progress even to the discovery stage attests to that fact.”