Suit against police dismissed

Wednesday, April 7, 2004 | 10:25 a.m.

U.S District Judge Kent Dawson threw out a lawsuit alleging police had violated a local man's civil rights because the complaint did not satisfactorily argue that any constitutional rights had been violated.

"Despite being given a chance to file an amended complaint, the complaint failed to satisfactorily file a claim under the Civil Rights Act," the judge found, according to his law clerk, Bryce Jones.

Lazaro Sotolusson's attorney, Barry Levinson, has already filed motions to reconsider, Jones said.

Sotolusson claims police violated his civil rights when they falsely detained him for more than a year for two sexual assaults he did not commit.

Sotolusson was linked to two unsolved sexual assault cases after his cellmate at the North Las Vegas Detention Center accused him of rape.

DNA samples for both inmates were obtained and run through a computer database. Police later learned that the DNA samples were switched, and that it was Sotolusson's cellmate's DNA that was linked to the sexual assault cases.

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