Arrest of Robert Seacat
 | This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (October 2024) |
| Date | June 3–4, 2015 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 19.48 hours[1] |
| Location | 4219 South Alton Street Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States |
| Coordinates | 39°38′26″N 104°52′52″W / 39.640660°N 104.881046°W |
| Type | Police standoff |
| Cause | Shoplifting |
| Motive | Resisting arrest |
| Target | Robert Jonathan Seacat |
| Participants |
|
| Outcome |
|
| Property damage | US$450,000 (2015) (eq. $578,000 in 2023) |
| Charges | 32 criminal charges |
| Litigation | Lech v. City of Greenwood Village |
On June 3, 2015, Robert Johnathan Seacat, an Aurora, Colorado resident wanted by police, broke into a house at 4219 South Alton Street in Greenwood Village and barricaded himself inside. After a standoff lasting almost 20 hours, Seacat was apprehended by police, whose attempts to breach the structure and flush him out inflicted severe damage to the house. The homeowner, Leo Lech, filed a lawsuit against the municipality for compensation, but was ruled against by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; he appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, but the court declined to hear the case.
Background
[edit]Robert Jonathan Seacat (also Robert Seakat) was born in Kansas on May 6, 1982. At the time of the incident in June 2015, he was 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall, weighed 175 pounds (79 kg), was residing in Aurora, Colorado,[2] and was married to Ramona Vitalyevna Grabchenko. With previous convictions for drug possession, aggravated motor vehicle theft, and burglary, on June 3, 2015, Seacat also had three outstanding warrants: two for illegal drugs and one for aggravated motor vehicle theft.[1] As of January 2024[update], he was six feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).[3]
The owners of the house at 4219 South Alton Street in Greenwood Village were Leo and Alfonsia Lech, who had bought the property for their son John, his girlfriend Anna Mumzhiyan, and her nine-year-old son,[4] who were paying Leo US$1,300 (equivalent to $1,671 in 2023) in monthly rent.[5] John told police he kept an unloaded pistol and 20-gauge shotgun in the master closet, while ammunition was kept elsewhere in the house.[1]
Standoff
[edit]According to a police affidavit, on June 3, 2015, Seacat shoplifted two belts and a shirt from a Walmart in Greenwood Village. The Aurora Police Department (APD) was notified, and when Officer John Reiter arrived at the scene, Seacat hit him with his Lexus GS300 and fled the scene. Reiter, who was not seriously injured, attempted to pursue Seacat and found his abandoned car at the nearby Dayton station. While radioing for assistance and a tow truck, a bystander alerted Reiter that they had spotted Seacat crossing northbound Interstate 225 with a .380 ACP semi-automatic pistol, but he was unable to find Seacat in the vicinity. Reiter returned to the Lexus to inventory its contents: $27 in cash, 12.5 grams (0.44 oz) of psilocybin mushrooms, 45 grams (1.6 oz) of cannabis, and an unidentified 2.9-gram (0.10 oz) blue pill. Responding to Reiter's backup call were officers from the APD and the Greenwood Village Police Department (GVPD), who established a perimeter in the area and initiated a manhunt for Seacat.[1]
At 1:54 pm, Seacat broke into 4219 South Alton Street in Greenwood Village, tripping the security alarm twice as he did so, alerting police. John and Anna were not home at the time, but their nine-year-old son was; when he exited the house unharmed at 2:17 pm, he identified Seacat as being inside the house. When Seacat opened the garage doors, APD Officer William Woods drove his cruiser into the garage door to block his escape; Seacat responded by blindly firing his pistol through the garage door, striking the cruiser multiple times but missing Woods.[1]
GVPD Commander Dustin Varney took command of the situation and summoned GVPD SWAT as well as further assistance from the APD, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. GVPD SWAT Officer Mic Smith began negotiations with Seacat over the telephone, but by 6:08 pm, Seacat stopped communicating with police.[1]
At 10:38 pm, a SWAT team attempted to enter the house using a stun grenade to conceal their movements, but were driven out by gunshots (though criminalists would later establish that they were not fired upon). Over the next 10 hours, a Lenco BearCat was driven through the front door, tear gas[1] and 40 mm grenades were repeatedly launched inside, shots were fired upon the house, and explosives were detonated to destroy several exterior walls. The house was "utterly destroyed"[6] by the time Seacat was apprehended in the upstairs bathroom. According to police, at the time of his arrest, Seacat was carrying a loaded Glock 19 and 6.68 grams (0.236 oz) of suspected methamphetamine.[1]
Aftermath
[edit]In their subsequent search of the house, police found Lech's over and under shotgun unloaded and still in its case. In the master bathroom, police found a loaded Glock 17, 322.54 grams (11.377 oz) of suspected methamphetamine, 1.75 grams (0.062 oz) of methadone, 0.47 grams (0.017 oz) of diazepam, 29.86 grams (1.053 oz) of suspected heroin, 17.5 pills of methylphenidate, 2.44 grams (0.086 oz) of clonazepam, 2.25 grams (0.079 oz) of cannabis, 61 packets of buprenorphine/naloxone, digital weighing scales, dozens of single-use baggies, used syringes and pipes, cash, and multiple cell phones. Another 3.60 grams (0.127 oz) of suspected methamphetamine was found in the bathroom where Seacat was captured. Anthony Costarella, a GVPD officer specialized in narcotics, argued that this cache evidenced Seacat as a drug trafficker.[1]
It was determined that, during the standoff with police, Seacat was under the influence of methamphetamine, as well as other packets of drugs he had swallowed.[5] At Swedish Hospital on June 6, Seacat defecated seven baggies that tested positive for 10.95 grams (0.386 oz) of heroin and 21.19 grams (0.747 oz) of methamphetamine.[1]
On June 9, GVPD Detective John J. Carr applied for an arrest warrant on Seacat.[1] The same day, the Arapahoe County district attorney filed 32 charges against Seacat: 17 counts of attempted murder in the first degree, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of menacing, one count of attempted motor vehicle theft, four counts of criminal possession of a weapon, three counts of drug possession, one count of trespass, and four counts of being a habitual criminal.[2] In August 2016, Seacat's jury trial was scheduled for that October 4.[5]
As of January 2024[update], Seacat (inmate number 145189) was imprisoned in the Sterling Correctional Facility for 20 separate convictions, with an estimated mandatory release date of March 3, 2061. He is next eligible for parole on October 4, 2035.[3]
Lechs' litigation
[edit][T]he residence had significant damage to all of the upper floor walls, basement back yard doors and front door. [… A]ll of the rooms in the home had damage and that the amount of debris both inside the home and outside the home was significant.
Detective John J. Carr, GVPD[1]
When he returned to his house, Leo Lech complained about the damage police had inflicted to it, which he compared to Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad after Operation Neptune Spear: "[p]rojectiles were still lodged in the walls. Glass and wooden paneling crumbled on the ground below the gaping holes, and inside, the family's belongings and furniture appeared thrashed in a heap of insulation and drywall."
Varney defended the police's actions by saying, "My mission is to get that individual out unharmed and make sure my team and everyone else around including the community goes home unharmed […] Sometimes that means property gets damaged, and I am sorry for that."[6] The National Tactical Officers Association supported Varney's assertion that appropriate force was used in the Seacat standoff.[5]
Due to the extensive damage, the house was eventually condemned by Greenwood Village, and the remains were razed.[7] John Lech and his family moved into his father's home 30 miles (48 km) from Greenwood Village; the distance of the relocation forced John to change jobs. The city refused to compensate the Lechs, and instead offered $5,000 (equivalent to $6,427 in 2023) "in temporary rental assistance and for the [home] insurance deductible."[6] Alleging that the house's value was $450,000 (equivalent to $578,436 in 2023),[5] the Lechs refused the 1% offer, calling it "insulting"; rebuilding the house cost Leo $400,000.[6] In a 2019 response to an NPR inquiry, Greenwood Village spokesperson Melissa Gallegos argued it was Leo's decision to demolish rather than repair the house, replace the undamaged foundation, and build a larger house than the one that was damaged.[7]
In 2016,[7] the Lechs filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against the GVPD under the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 15 of the Constitution of Colorado.[4] They claimed that they deserved compensation for "their property [being] seized by the government for public use" (Lech v. City of Greenwood Village),[6] and were willing to settle with the city for $600,000 (equivalent to $761,730 in 2023).[5] Instead, the defendants requested and were granted summary judgment by the district court, which ruled that "when a state acts pursuant to its police power, rather than the power of eminent domain, its actions do not constitute a taking".[4] In the past, both the Minnesota and Texas Supreme Courts have sided with litigants whose houses were damaged or destroyed by police actions. The Lechs appealed the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (10th Cir.).[6]
In 2019, the three-judge panel of the 10th Cir. ruled against the Lechs, stating unanimously that the destruction of the house fell under police power and that eminent domain was not undertaken. The court sympathized with the Lechs, calling their circumstances "unfair", but ruling that police cannot be "burdened" with the consideration of collateral property damage when performing their duties.[6] The 10th Cir. also noted that "if police officers 'willfully or wantonly' destroy property", then they can be subject to tort law; Leo was also unsuccessful in pursuing that avenue with the courts of Colorado.[7]
As of October 2019[update], Leo had incurred $28,000 (equivalent to $33,368 in 2023) in attorney's fees.[7] On March 11, 2020, the Institute for Justice filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States.[8] The Supreme Court denied certiorari on June 29, 2020, letting the lower court's ruling stand.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Carr, John J. (June 9, 2015), Affidavit of Probable Cause for Arrest Warrant, District Court, Arapahoe County, archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2019, retrieved October 31, 2019
- ^ a b Brauchler, George H. (June 9, 2015), The People of the State of Colorado vs. Robert Jonathan Seacat, District Court, Arapahoe County, archived from the original (PDF) on November 1, 2019, retrieved November 1, 2019
- ^ a b "Offender Search". Colorado Department of Corrections. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c Moritz, Nancy (October 29, 2019), Leo Lech; Alfonsia Lech; John Lech v. Chief John A. Jackson; Commander Dustin Varney; Officer Mic Smith; Officer Jeff Mulqueen; Officer Austin Speer; Officer Jared Arthur; Officer Bryan Stuebinger; Officer Juan Villalva; Officer Andy Wynder; Officer Anthony Costarella; Officer Bob Hasche, of the Greenwood Village Police Department, individually and in their official capacities; the City of Greenwood Village (PDF), United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2019, retrieved November 1, 2019
- ^ a b c d e f McGhee, Tom (August 4, 2016). "Man Sues City for Damages to His Property". The Denver Post. ISSN 1930-2193.
His home was destroyed when a gunman took shelter there last year.
- ^ a b c d e f g Flynn, Meagan (October 30, 2019). "Police blew up an innocent man's house in search of an armed shoplifter. Too bad, court rules". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 2269358. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Allyn, Bobby (October 30, 2019). "Police Owe Nothing To Man Whose Home They Blew Up, Appeals Court Says". NPR. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ^ Institute for Justice (March 11, 2020), Lech v. City of Greenwood Village (PDF), Supreme Court of the United States, archived (PDF) from the original on May 28, 2020, retrieved May 28, 2020
- ^ Order List: 591 U.S. (PDF), Supreme Court of the United States, June 29, 2020, archived (PDF) from the original on July 31, 2020, retrieved August 4, 2020
Further reading
[edit]- Stone, Devin James; Vojta, Donnalyn; Aurand, Tricia (May 9, 2020), The Police Blew Up The House! (The Case Of), LegalEagle, archived from the original on December 21, 2023 – via YouTube