Judge: Prosecutors OK to post arrest video in Gabbi Lemos case

A Sonoma County judge this week rejected the latest legal effort from a Petaluma teen to fend off a resisting-arrest charge so she can seek monetary damages in an excessive force lawsuit against a sheriff’s deputy.

Judge Gary Medvigy ruled Wednesday there is no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct against Gabbi Lemos, 18, who was charged with interfering with a domestic violence investigation outside her Liberty Road house a year ago.

In his ruling, Medvigy found prosecutors acted appropriately when they took the unusual step of publishing a video of the incident as well as jail recordings in which Lemos can be heard using a racial slur to describe the deputy.

Previously, Medvigy rejected Lemos’ claim that prosecutors charged her in retaliation for a police brutality lawsuit she filed in federal court. Although the charge was filed a day after the lawsuit, Medvigy found it had been in the works for weeks.

Now, Lemos is expected to take her resisting-arrest case to a jury. A conviction would end the federal suit, eliminating any chance of winning compensation from the county.

The trial is tentatively set for June 30. Lemos’ lawyer will attempt to view the deputy’s confidential personnel file in a hearing two days before trial.

The much-watched case grew from a late-night incident outside the Lemos family home on June 14, 2015. Deputy Marcus Holton, on routine patrol, stopped to investigate yelling he thought might be a spousal dispute.

Instead, he found Lemos’ older sister, apparently drunk, sitting in a parked pickup. When the deputy attempted to open her door, Lemos, who was celebrating her recent graduation from Petaluma High School, stepped in front of him. She then began arguing with him alongside her sister and mother.

The heated encounter was recorded by the deputy’s body camera. It is posted on YouTube.

At one point, Lemos breaks from the group to head back into her house. Holton is seen grabbing her and throwing her to the ground. She suffered facial bruising when she said the deputy ground her head into the gravel driveway.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter?@ppayne.