Donald Stevenson filed his lawsuit Wednesday in Adams County District Court, alleging Adams County Sheriff Gene Claps and his deputies held Stevenson in jail for 18 days on a warrant issued for another Donald Stevenson with a different middle initial and birthday, until a public defender finally noticed the error.
"Due to the conduct of the Adams County sheriff and his deputies and agents, plaintiff was unlawfully incarcerated for 18 days, during which time he was deprived of his liberty, suffered physical and emotional harm, and was prevented from working," according to his complaint. "Plaintiff files this lawsuit seeking justice for his nearly three week wrongful incarceration."
Stevenson was arrested May 9 on an unlawful use of a motor vehicle charge, a misdemeanor in Colorado. Stevenson was arrested on a Friday and booked into jail using his correct name and date of birth to await arraignment the following Sunday, the suit says.
According to the complaint, Stevenson, who does not have a middle name, was arraigned, and a judge granted a request for bond on personal recognizance May 11. Despite receiving and securing bond on his charge, Stevenson was not released from custody.
The same day Stevenson was set to be released, the Adams County Sheriff's Office received a detainer from Denver County for Donald R. Stevenson for failure to comply with a warrant. The detainer had a different middle initial and date of birth and listed different physical characteristics to the person in Adams County custody, the suit says.
Stevenson was again taken to court May 12, and was made to appear in the case involving Donald R. Stevenson. Jail officials were at this point aware Stevenson was being held under false pretenses and still did not attempt to correct the record in court, the complaint said.
The suit does not specify whether a judge assigned to Donald R. Stevenson's case was made aware of the identity mix-up during that appearance in court. No bond was placed in the May 12 matter, and Stevenson was again sent back to the Adams County jail, according to the suit.
Two days later, on May 14, Stevenson was again returned to court for an appearance for his underlying misdemeanor charge, and a judge ordered him released from custody. Stevenson said he was not released, and instead held in custody until May 28 until the next hearing for his underlying misdemeanor.
An appointed public defender noticed Stevenson was incorrectly being incarcerated and emailed a jail administrator about the issue. An administrator admitted the error was due to mistaken identity, and Stevenson was finally released after nearly three weeks, he alleged.
Throughout his incarceration, Stevenson said, he sent multiple emails and letters to jail staff notifying them of the mix-up, but they failed to respond. Jail staff ignored communications from Stevenson and direct orders for his release from judges in his misdemeanor case, his suit says.
Even after his release, jail officials continued to make errors relating to Stevenson's incarceration, incorrectly listing his birthday on records for his incarceration, and an official custody letter from the sheriff's office contained date of birth information from both Stevenson and the person listed on the Denver County warrant, according to the complaint.
The suit accuses jail officials of negligence and two counts of false imprisonment, accusing them of violating state false imprisonment laws by refusing to release Stevenson. He is seeking compensatory damages and legal fees, and a declaration from the court that jail officials violated the Colorado Constitution.
An attorney representing Stevenson in the civil action and a spokesperson for the Adams County Sheriff's Office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Stevenson is represented by C. Shelbi Danner, Daniel P. Gerash and Eric L. Steiner of Gerash Steiner PC.
Counsel information for the Adams County Sheriff's Office was not immediately available.
The case is Stevenson v. Sheriff Gene Claps et al., case number 2026CV30700 in the 17th Judicial District of Colorado.
--Editing by Covey Son.
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