BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — The owner of a mobile home lot who was arrested in 2020 is now suing Bexar County, Sheriff Javier Salazar and others after his case was dismissed for insufficient evidence. And the owner claims it is not the first time the sheriff has falsely accused someone.
Jasper Mobile Home Park was shuttered last year after Sheriff Salazar claimed it had been "a nuisance for several years".
Owner John Ripley was arrested following allegations that he stole $9,000 in water from SAWS.
"Mr. Ripley doesn't get any money from this. If someone steals some water from the San Antonio water system, he gets no advantage whatsoever and the officers knew this," said Ripley's attorney Randall Kallinen.
Kallinen says the sheriff was grandstanding about Ripley's case and that the criminal court charges were dismissed after Ripley defended himself.
"The sheriff, I think, made some promises to the public through his various press conferences that he held, and this was probably the way that he could come across to the people as having delivered," Kallinen said.
In a press conference Tuesday, Kallinen said the point of the lawsuit is to hold the sheriff accountable.
"That's what this lawsuit is about. It is to hold the sheriff accountable so that if he arrests someone, there is probably cause for the arrest," Kallinen said.
He also spoke specificially at the press conference of the charge of stealing water from SAWS, saying that it was the mobile home residents themselves who were responsible for the water bills.
"John was not aware that water was being stolen, obviously he had no benefit of water being stolen," Kallinen said.
Ripley's lawyer said this is not the first time soemthing like this has happened with Sheriff Salazar.
"Just prior, he had accused some people of kidnaping a child, which turned out to be absolutely false. Those cases were dismissed as well," Kallinen said.
Christopher Shapira and Patricia Benitez are suing the sheriff as well as the county after Sheriff Salazar accused them of trying to kidnap a child.
A spokeperson for Bexar County had no comment, telling KENS 5 they do not comment on pending litigation.