Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MICHAEL W. MARTIN,
Plaintiff,
follows:
2. A s o f t h e d a t e o f t h i s filing, n o n e o f t h e d e f e n d a n t s h a v e b e e n s e r v e d and n o n e
o f t h e d e f e n d a n t s h a v e filed r e s p o n s i v e pleadings.
p r e j u d i c e the d e f e n d a n t s . |
4. A c o p y o f t h e p r o p o s e d First A m e n d e d C o m p l a i n t is a t t a c h e d h e r e t o as Exhibit A Y
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"Leave to amend shall be liberally granted in furtherance of the ends of justice.?
Jacobson v. Southern Biscuit Co., 198 Va. 813 (1957). See also Peterson v.
WHEREFORE, Martin moves the Court to enter an Order allowing him to amend his
MICHAEL W. MARTIN
W. b ios
Of Counsel
Certificate o f Service
W . Barry M o n t g o m e r y , Esq.
V I R G I N I A :
IN T H E C I R C U I T C O U R T FOR T H E C I T Y OF W A Y N E S B O R O
MICHAEL W. MARTIN,
Plaintiff,
C I T Y O F W A Y N E S B O R O ,V I R G I N I A ,
And
M I C H A E L D. W I L H E L M
And
T I M O T H Y A. M A R T I N
And
D O N A L D L. S M I T H
And
D A V I D L. L E D B E T T E R
Defendants.
1.
M a r t i n is a career law enforcement officer w i t h over 28 years o f experience. Martin
EXHIBIT
?WPD?). Martin reported corruption w i t h i n the Augusta County Sheriff's Office to the V i r g i n i a
State Police and he was immediately removed from the Skyline Joint Drug Task Force (hereinafter
?Skyline Drug Task Force?) as well as dereliction o f duty by Commonwealth?s Attorney David
Ledbetter. The City o f Waynesboro Police Department and defendant Michael D. W i l h e l m then
fired Martin in retaliation for his reporting o f fraud and corruption w i t h i n August County. Rather
than investigate his allegations, the defendants instead investigated M a r t i n , fired him and then
PARTIES
including the most recent i n 2005 (subsequently amended in 2019) and is an ?employer? under
Va. Code § 2.2-310 o f the V i r g i n i a Fraud Abuse Whistle B l o w e r Protection A c t (the ?Act?).
Wilhelm?) is an individual and the former Chief o f Police for the City o f Waynesboro. A t
6. A t all times relevant to this action, D o n a l d L. Smith (?Smith?), was an individual and the
Waynesboro.
FACTS
Department to rebuild a local drug task force, called the Skyline Drug Task Force, for the
purpose o f interdicting high volumes o f illegal drugs and narcotics that were f l o w i n g
Waynesboro Police Department subsequently served as the sponsor for the local task force
because Waynesboro Police Department was by far the largest contributing agency in terms
10. The Skyline D r u g Task Force was based and housed i n Waynesboro and not Augusta
County, as previous regional drug task forces had been. Waynesboro Police Department
and w i t h assets o f the Skyline Drug Task Force, opened a case called ?Operation Vaquero?
12. The Skyline D r u g Task Force began to make serious progress with regional drug
interdictions i n 2016 but began to encounter numerous hardships and ?friction? from Smith
and C A M a r t i n o f Augusta County. This interference came about despite the fact that
Augusta County was only providing three law enforcement personnel to the task for ce
efforts.
.
In or around late 2016, C A Martin approached Martin and requested that he provide C A
Martin with the list o f all confidential informants for ?vetting? purposes. M a r t i n responded
that he would provide those names in Augusta County cases and i n those circumstances
that the disclosure was relevant to Augusta County cases. C A M a r t i n was v i s i b l y angry at
t h i s response.
.
During the ensuing months, Sheriff Smith and M a r t i n began to have considerable
professional differences o f opinion on drug interdiction tactics and other police tactics
tenure, many attempts b y his own tactical team to serve drug search warrants w i t h i n
Augusta County failed due to improper tactics. This led to a decline i n the amount o fd r u g s
seized in prior years and was especially concerning to M a r t i n due to the countless hours o f
overtime and investigative hours that his own Waynesboro drug investigators were
15.
In or around M a r c h 15, 2017, M a r t i n planned and led a m u l t i - j u r i s d i c t i o n a l effort to
Augusta and Nelson and dealt a tremendous b l o w to the cartel operatives in the region.
warrants, and because this high profile case had taken thousands o f man hours and been
years in the making, M a r t i n requested the use o f the V i r g i n i a State Police tactical teamt o
16. Operation Apocalypto ted to the seizure o f 14.5 pounds o f methamphetamine and 2.5
17. In the days f o l l o w i n g Operation Apocalypto, it became very clear that Sheriff Smith was
furious that the Augusta County Sheriff's O f f i c e was not utilized and raked numerous
regional and state l a w enforcement officials ?over the coals.? The r i f t between S h e r i f f
Smith, M a r t i n and the Waynesboro Police Department grew even greater f r o m that point
forward.
18. S h e r i f f Smith thereafter demanded that any and all drug warrants i n Augusta County be
solely served through the Augusta County Sheriff's Department. The net result was the
19. O n or about December 5, 2017, Martin and other elements o f the Skyline D r u g Task Force
?Roane?) had been tracking three A f r i c a n American male suspects b y cellular ping
Roane took it upon h i m s e l f to ram the suspect vehicle f r o m behind, even though the
suspects had complied and pulled to the side o f the road. Roane and other members o f the
task force then broke out all the w i n d o w s o f the suspect vehicle. The suspects were then
forcibly detained and placed in handcuffs. The subsequent search o f their vehicle only
revealed a trace amount o f suspected drugs i n the c o m m o n area in the back o f the vehicle.
20. At this point, M a r t i n became highly concerned about Roane?s roguish behavior and his use
o f excessive force against three African American suspects who were f u l l y compliant.
First, he began to suspect that Roane got the cell pings illegally. Second, he suspected that
Roane?s use o f excessive force was potentially a civil rights violation under 42 U S C §
21. By this time during the winter o f 2017, Sheriff Smith was angry w i t h M a r t i n due to
22. D u r i n g the winter o f 2017, Petitioner assembled the elements o f the task force to discuss
methods to better utilize the canine units to conduct package interdictions at the various
FedEx and UPS warehouses throughout the region. W i t h i n an hour after that meeting, Sgt.
Roane called M a r t i n and stated, ?look the Sheriff [Smith] wants me to make it clear to you
that he doesn?t w a n t your drug dogs working in the county. He has his o w n plans f o r a
canine team and he doesn?t want your dogs w o r k i n g those targets.? This further
trade and further minimized the task force?s ability to interdict the drug trade in Augusta
County.
23. On o r about December 7, 2017, Martin and other task force members assisted Roane in
a large number o f marijuana pipes and other smoking devices, were confiscated. Roane
instructed the suspect to destroy a number o f valuable glass pipes that the suspect had in
his personal collection, and he did so, destroying several hundred dollars i n personal
property without due process. D u r i n g the course o f that interdiction, Roane also made the
comment that he wanted to add one particular pipe i n the f o r m o f an unclothed woman to
his personal trophy collection. That pipe sat on Roane?s desk for over a week in clear
Waynesboro Police Department General Orders and policies and chain o f custody rules
policies and procedures to the attention o f the V i r g i n i a State Police Coordinator, Special
. Sheriff Smith became aware o f Martin?s above-referenced report and became angry w i t h
not be placed on the ?Brady list? ? meaning that he could no longer testify in Waynesboro
Courts. Augusta County C A Martin also tried to run interference for Roane but C A
Flory (hereafter ?Flory?) that he ??couldn?t believe that this guy (Martin) wanted to ruin a
27. Later in 2018, M a r t i n decided that enough was enough. A f t e r explaining to W i l h e l m about
his newest concerns, M a r t i n was told by W i l h e l m that he just needed to ?quit pissing people
off?. M a r t i n felt he had a clear command responsibility to report these violations and went
misconduct o f Sgt. Roane and Sheriff Smith there. During that meeting conducted with
L t . Ira Matney and First Sergeant Bob Shupe, Martin walked them througha l i t a n y o f
serious issues, including Roane?s deviation from professional standards and thep o t e n t i a l
constant interference w i t h the Skyline Drug Task Force despite the fact that Augusta
County Sheriff's O f f i c e was a minimal player in terms o f manpower and resources to the
task force ? despite the fact that Augusta County is the largest jurisdiction in the region
28.
A f e w weeks later, S h e r i f f Smith retaliated against Martin. S h e r i f f Smith subsequently
called a special meeting o f the Skyline Drug Task Force and had M a r t i n voted o f f o f the
task force. Furthermore, Smith garnered the votes to have the task force moved from
confidential informants in an effort to dissuade them from w o r k i n g for Martin. This had a
County f r o m a suspect. S h e r i f f Smith, upon learning that Martin had made this large seizure
inhis jurisdiction, directly contacted the Washington Field O f f i c e o f the Drug Enforcement
Agency and successfully had M a r t i n ' s federal credentials pulled as a result o f his complaint
about Martin. B u t the D E A also pulled the credentials for the other three officers still on
the task force, one Augusta County Deputy and two Virginia State Police investigators.
This absolutely crippled several ongoing investigations and also stripped all the
3 .
In or around February, 2019 while working a Waynesboro law enforcement case, M a r t i n
requested that C A Ledbetter have a certain confidential informant released o n bond i n order
to further cultivate cooperation (the same subject referenced above). Ledbetter complied
with that request and also asked C A M a r t i n to do the same. A t that meeting, C A M a r t i n
stated that he w o u l d agree only as long as M a r t i n turned drugs seized f r o m the confidential
informant over to the lab for testing. Martin had in fact already sent the suspected drugs to
the V i r g i n i a state lab f o r testing to be used i n a companion case against the couriers who
he had promised the informant in this case that he would not be prosecuted i f he continued
stated that he was not, reiterating that he had made a promise not to charge the informant
and that he had n o intention o f sending the drugs to the federal lab to substantiate a federal
charge. It was this promise, used only as l a s t resort b y Martin to get the kilogram o f drugs
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o f f the street and ensure cooperation, that w o u l d prove to be the impetus f o r C A Martin?s
32. Upon his release, the confidential informant cooperated with M a r t i n as promised and on
was able to plan and conduct a multi-jurisdictional operation that yielded the arrest o f t w o
drug cartel members f r o m M e x i c o and the seizure o f over 6 pounds o f meth, an ounce o f
33. D u r i n g the debriefing o f the t w o arrestees that evening, Martin learned that they had been
trafficking multiple pounds o f methamphetamine into the western area o f Augusta County
for several months. This was a huge counter-drug victory for Augusta C o u n t y because o f
34. D e s p i t e t h i s h u g e v i c t o r y , M a r t i n r e c e i v e d a s u m m o n s to t h e A u g u s t a C o u n t y G r a n d J u r y
in July o f 2019 to appear and provide probable cause testimony against the informant for a
violation o f 18.2-248 (H), Code o f Virginia. Martin was taken aback by this sudden charge
because it was his understanding that the informant was not going to be charged as
35. A short time after the grand j u r y case was heard, Martin encountered A t t o m e y Dana
M a r t i n about the pending case and advised that he was representing the informant. Martin
asked Cormier i f C A M a r t i n had divulged the fact that a promise was made to the informant
in his discovery. C o r m i e r responded that he had not. M a r t i n felt that it would truly be a
miscarriage o f justice i f the promise made to the informant, and his subsequent cooperation,
were not provided to his defense so he told the entire story to Cormier. W i t h this
36. N o t only did C A M a r t i n fail to divulge the exculpatory evidence to Cormier, prior to the
agenda in prosecuting the informant. Just p r i o r to the hearing, C A Martin sent t w o o f his
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deputy CA?s, Lorna Port (hereafter ?Port?) and Charles Baldis (hereafter ?Baldis?), to meet
with Martin about the case. D u r i n g this meeting, Martin repeatedly tried to reiterate that he
had madea clear, concise, and unequivocal promise to the informant that he would not be
charged i f he cooperated. Baldis attempted to quibble and twist Martin?s words to insinuate
that M a r t i n had not been clear i n his promise, but Martin remained firm. Baldis would later
37. The suppression hearing was held on August 17" i n Augusta County Court. C A Martin
made a clear attempt to carefully craft an argument that would seemingly discredit Martin
during this hearing. M a r t i n remained f i r m in his testimony that he had clearly made a
promise to the i n f o r m a n t that he would not be charged i f he handed over the drugs and
investigation into Martin?s testimony, insinuating that Martin had committed perjury i n the
case.
38. O n September 1 7 " o f 2020, W i l h e l m placed Martin on administrative leave w i t h pay while
the investigation was underway. The only constraint that W i l h e l m documented in the
department m e m o provided to M a r t i n was that he was ?not to discuss this case w i t h anyone
other than the Investigator assigned to conduct this investigation and your attorney?.
Attomey?s O f f i c e was designated as the special prosecutor in this case against Martin.
40. D u r i n g the investigation the V i r g i n i a State Police did not interview the informant in
question regarding Martin?s side o f the story. Despite this fact, Einhaus returned his
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memo stated that ?the investigation did not reveal any criminal offense(s) committed by
Captain Martin arising from his sworn testimony given on August 1 7 " o f 2020?.
4 -
On A p r i l 19, 2021, W i l h e l m and Martin discussed the ongoing case in a 45 minute phone
conversation w h i c h was recorded by Martin. When Martin inquired about his status and
his potential return to work, W i l h e l m stated ? i f you get cleared up with Ledbetter then we
are good?, indicating that he had no further issues w i t h M a r t i n at the time. As he had done
many times before this conversation, M a r t i n related his ongoing concerns about C A
prosecute drug cases. Furthermore, Martin told W i l h e l m that he was deeply concemed
about Ledbetter?s fraternization w i t h a specific defense attorney and the fact that he had
taken a recent trip to the beach w i t h this particular defense attorney while they had felony
42. On June 30, 2021, M a r t i n and his attorney met w i t h W i l h e l m and C A Ledbetter about the
results o f the criminal investigation. Martin expected that he could return to w o r k due to
him being cleared o f any crime. Instead, C A Ledbetter told M a r t i n that he would no longer
hear Martin?s cases in court. M a r t i n was not placed on the Brady list by Ledbetter, which
would have provided him due process in a Brady hearing. Instead, Ledbetter simply
rendered Martin?s police powers almost useless by refusing to hear his cases in the future,
an action to w h i c h M a r t i n had zero options to defend against. This action was clearly
his improper fraternization w i t h a local defense attorney and his failure to effectively
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43. Also during the meeting held on June 30, 2021, W i l h e l m advised Martin that despite the
fact that he had been cleared by the year and a half long V i r g i n i a State Police investigation,
he was opening a separate internal affairs investigation into the matter. W i l h e l m provided
Martin w i t h a memo on July 12, 2021 stating that he had assigned Maj or Sean Reeves
44. The key allegation was made by W i l h e l m that M a r t i n had continued to perform police w o r k
outside o f the parameters o f what was allowed during his administrative suspension period.
Ledbetter claimed that M a r t i n told h i m he had played a large role in the seizure o f 41
claim via the testimony o f Martin?s subordinate investigators during the administrative
grievance process. The allegations made against M a r t i n in the internal affairs investigation
were unfounded. Reeves appeared to completely ignore Martin?s request to have key
witnesses interviewed that could easily refute some o f the allegations against him. Reeves
also completely ignored the existence o f exculpatory evidence that existed on a DEA
46. A t all times relevant to this action, W i l h e l m was acting as an employee and agent o f the
City o f Waynesboro.
COUNT |
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W R O N G F U L T E R M A T I O N UNDER V I R G I N I A CODE § 2.2-3011
47. The allegations o f paragraphs 1-46 are re-alleged as i f fully set forth herein.
Martin has been subjected to retaliatory actions for conduct as a whistle b l o w e r which is protected
Sheriff Smith and C A M a r t i n , all employees o f state and local government, that was
50.
P l a i n t i f f M a r t i n witnessed and had evidence o f " W r o n g d o i n g " by C A M a r t i n , Sgt. Roane
and S h e r i f f Smith c o m m i t t i n g violations o f federal and state laws and/or regulations, local
W i l h e l m and others.
5].
P l a i n t i f f was a ?Whistleblower? pursuant to the Fraud and Abuse W h i s t l e b l o w e r
good faith report o f the wrongdoing or abuse to his superior and to an appropriate
Smith, p l a i n t i f f M a r t i n was citizen o f the Commonwealth who witnessed and had evidence
o f ?Wrongdoing? and ?Abuse? and made good faith reports o f to his superiors and to an
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52. In violation o f §2.2-3011, C oo f Vdi r g i e
n i a , The City, C h i e f W i l h e l m and C A Ledbetter
against p l a i n t i f f Martin
54. Virginia Code s 2.2.-3011(A) states: ?No employer may discharge, threaten, or
otherwise discriminate or retaliate against a whistle blower whether acting on his o w n ort h r o u g h
55. Martin has, i n good faith, cooperated w i t h V i r g i n i a State Police and Federal L a w
Enforcement to provide protected disclosures about the corruption within the task force and the
56. As a direct and proximate result o f the retaliation and discrimination by the
defendants and the violation o f §2.2-3011 and §2.2-3010.1, Code o f Virginia, p l a i n t i f f M a r t i n has
suffered damages including last wages and benefits, loss o f his career, pain and suffering and other
damages.
C O U N T II:
W R O N G F U L T E R M A T I O N U N D E R V I R G I N I A C O D E § 40.1-27.3
57. The allegations o f paragraphs 1-46 are re-alleged as i f fully set forth herein.
a. Reported violations o f federal and state laws and regulations to the Virginia State
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b. Refused his employers orders to perform actions that violated state and federal laws
after M a r t i n advise his employer that he believed the requested actions would
civil rights as protected by the United States Constitution and the Constitution o f
Virginia;
59. The City and C h i e f Wilhelm disciplined Martin and terminated Martin?s employment i n
60. Asa direct and proximate result o f the violations o f V i r g i n i a Code §40.1-27.3 by the C i t y
and Wilhelm, p l a i n t i f f M a r t i n has suffered damages including losy wages and benefits as
COUNT I l l :
61. The allegations o f paragraphs 1-60 are re-alleged as i f f u l l y set forth herein.
62. The City and C h i e f W i l h e l m have intentionally and wrongly terminated Martin in
violation o f the policies o f V i r g i n i a including the laws requiring law enforcement officials to
document and safe keep property seized during the execution o f a search warrant and during
o f the Constitution o f V i r g i n i a prohibiting the govemment from depriving persons o f lifer, liberty
or property w i t h o u t due process o f law. Such termination o f employment was wrongful pursuant
to the common law o f V i r g i n i a pursuant to Bowman v. State Bank o f Keysville, 229 Va. 534
(1985).
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63. The City and C h i e f W i l h e l m terminated p l a i n t i f f Martin?s employment due to
i n f o r m a t i o n to c r i m i n a l d e f e n d a n t s as expressed i n S t o v e r v . C o m m o n w e a l t h , 211 V a . 7 8 9 ( 1 9 7 1 ) ,
64. As a proximate cause o f the conduct o f the w i l l f u l and intentional conduct o f the
defendants, taken w i t h the specific intent to harm the plaintiff, M a r t i n has suffered damages
including lost wages and benefits, substantially compensatory damages, including mental and
emotional distress, reputational harm, loss o f sleep, suffered health issues, loss o f income,
Spite and i l l w i l l against Martin, and with utter and conscious disregard to his rights. M a r t i n is
COUNT IV:
66. The allegations o f paragraphs 1-65 are re-alleged as i f fully set forth herein.
68. A s a direct and proximate result o f the combined and concerted actions o f The City,
C h i e f W i l h e l m , C A L e d b e t t e r , S h e r i f f S m i t h C A M a r t i n . P l a i n t i f f M a r t i n has s u f f e r e d
and continues to suffer i n j u r y and damages to his reputation and profession as a law
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R e f oq r Punitive
u e Damages
s t
69. The allegations o f paragraphs 1-68 are re-alleged as i f fully set forth herein.
70. Atall times relevant to this action, the defendants acted willfully, maliciously, and with
the intent to harm plaintiff Martin in his reputation and professional as a law enforcement
officer and to procure his termination from the City o f Waynesboro Police Department.
D E M A N D FOR T R I A L B Y JURY
ER ENIAL BY JURY
Pursuant to Rule 3:21 o f the Rules o f the Supreme Court o f V i r g i n i a and §8.01-336, Code o f
Pursuant to Rule 3:25 o f the Rules o f the Supreme Court o f Virginia, p l a i n t i f f demands an
V i r g i n i a , and §18.2-500, Code o f V i r g i n i a and for the Court to establish a procedure to determine
such an award.
RELIEF SOUGHT
W H E R E F O R E , b a s e d o n t h e f o r e g o i n g , p l a i n t i f f m o v e s this h o n o r a b l e C o u r t t o e n t e r j u d g m e n t
in his favor against the defendants, j o i n t l y and severally, to award compensatory damages in the
damages, as well as an award o f prejudgment interest and an award o f attorney?s fees and costs
incurred in this action and. P l a i n t i f f also requests an Order that the City o f Waynesboro Police
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M I C H A E L W. M A R T I N
O f Counsel
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