FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Three Fresno concern owners person filed national lawsuits against Fresno constabulary officers.

YourCentralValley.com is uncovering caller details astir these abstracted but akin cases. While the situations are not connected, they impact akin circumstances and immoderate of the aforesaid constabulary officers.

Case 1: Luis Rodriguez

Luis Rodriguez owns a motorcycle store successful the Tower District. 

He says Fresno constabulary officers Rey Medeles, Gustavo Gutierrez and different chartless national officials tried to raid his store successful October, 2021 looking for amerciable drugs and weapons.

He says they did not person a warrant, truthful helium refused to cooperate with them.

Then, helium says they noticed a representation of his children connected his partition and started threatening to person his children taken away, saying “'You got kids here? You emotion your kids? Well we’re going to instrumentality them distant if you don't fto america in.’”

It has been 3 and a fractional years since the incident, but Rodriguez inactive gets affectional portion discussing it.

The officers arrested Rodriguez, which Rodriguez believes was retaliation for not complying.

“The warrant came 2 hours aft I was already successful handcuffs. And I retrieve due to the fact that they didn't instrumentality maine downtown until they got the warrant,” Rodriguez said.

He claims the officers lied to get an apprehension warrant, saying Rodriguez had amerciable drugs and weapons. They besides arrested him for kid endangerment, adjacent though lawsuit documents assertion determination weren’t immoderate children connected the premises.

In total, Rodriguez was booked connected 67 charges.

“I'm not a gangster. He's the gangster. It hurts that they adjacent prosecute radical similar that and travel with that mentality,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez had nary transgression history, and his charges were yet dropped successful November, 2022 owed to a deficiency of evidence.

Case 2: Chi Ngo

The 2nd lawsuit involves Chi Ngo, the proprietor of Valley Hydroponics successful Fresno.

He excessively had ne'er been convicted of a transgression erstwhile helium says a squad of officers led by Manuel Romero, Rey Medeles and Gustavo Gutierrez targeted Ngo successful their unlawful firearms and narcotics investigation.

They reached retired to Ngo successful April, 2023 with a warrant to hunt his business, location and rental properties. Case documents allege the officers got the warrant done “false and unreliable representations.”

Civil rights lawyer Kevin Little says Ngo was not progressive successful immoderate amerciable enactment astatine the time, truthful Ngo threatened to writer the officers.

They arrested him, seizing $10,000 from his business, respective weapons, USB drives and more.

“There were a fig of factors that suggested to maine that these were not righteous prosecutions,” Little said.

Ngo’s bail was acceptable astatine $22 cardinal connected to what Little calls “false charges.” However, helium was released aft his archetypal tribunal proceeding owed to insufficient evidence. His charges were dropped successful August, 2023.

Case 3: Daniel Guzman Vela

Finally, the 3rd lawsuit involves Daniel Guzman Vela, referred to arsenic “Guzman” successful lawsuit documents. 

Guzman owns the car repair store Valley Battery connected East McKinley Ave. He is besides the co-founder of ‘Greenleaf,’ an app utilized successful the CBD and marijuana industry.

Case documents notation to Greenleaf’s ‘420 Zone’ website arsenic a ineligible concern that “provides a societal marketplace for CBD and marijuana customers.”

Guzman says a squad of officers led by Fresno constabulary officers Rey Medeles and Gustavo Gutierrez sought him retired successful their achromatic marketplace marijuana probe successful June, 2023.

They had a hunt warrant, but Guzman refused to cooperate. Court documents allege they “responded by injurious unit that was wholly unnecessary and unjustified.”

“Contact with instrumentality enforcement for radical who person led law-abiding lives is an highly traumatic event,” Little said.

Guzman was arrested and handed 14 charges, including 3 felony charges. His bail was acceptable astatine much than $5.4 million.

However, helium excessively was released aft his archetypal tribunal quality owed to insufficient evidence. The transgression charges were dropped successful September, 2023.

“The signifier is excessively repetitious successful excessively galore aspects successful these 3 cases for it to beryllium a coincidence,” Little said.

The Defendants became the Plaintiffs. Rodriguez, Ngo and Guzman are present individually suing the officers progressive arsenic good arsenic the City of Fresno, each demanding a assemblage trial.

They are suing for a laundry database of complaints, including Unconstitutional Retaliatory Force, Deprivation of Property Rights and Battery.

Little represents each of them. He graduated from Harvard and has worked successful some the transgression and civilian rights sectors.

“The anticipation is that the result not lone benefits the individuals straight involved, but everyone who mightiness beryllium successful their aforesaid concern down the line,” Little said.

YourCentralValley.com reached retired to the City of Fresno much than erstwhile to perceive their side, but did not perceive back.

Little says the national tribunal is backed up connected cases close now, truthful it volition beryllium a portion earlier it’s their turn. Little could not springiness an estimation connected erstwhile the cases volition beryllium tried.