HOUSTON - An alleged false arrest and a reported 27 charges pertaining to a fence on his property have prompted Houston resident Kenneth Kobobel to sue the city and two of its employees, recent court papers say.
A lawsuit filed Aug. 16 in Houston federal court explains that Houston police officer J.E. Coneley apprehended Kobobel without a warrant in August 2011 on a charge of resisting arrest while Building Inspections Department senior investigator Richard Nordquist subsequently prosecuted the plaintiff for the fence "without due process of the law."
The original petition claims that Coneley "proceeded to throw the plaintiff into a cement wall and then to the ground" after placing him in handcuffs. He asserts the officer remarked that he did not need a warrant to carry out the arrest.
Coneley injured Kobobel's head, arms and back, according to the suit.
Kobobel says "there was no other offense pending and no offense was being committed and [he] was on his own property working, not breaking any law in Coneley's sight or hearing."
While the complainant was in jail, according to the suit, his property was left unlocked and unprotected, which allowed the supposed theft of $12,000 worth of tools and supplies.
Meanwhile, Kobobel claims Nordquist assessed nearly 30 charges in connection with the erection of his fence, but has failed and refused to give him a copy of the charges.
Each defendant violated Kobobel's constitutional rights, the suit says.
Consequently, the plaintiff seeks at least $100,000 in damages.
He is representing himself.
Case No. 4:13-CV-2411