SHERMAN – A federal court jury on Thursday awarded almost $21.4 million to a former Quitman police captain who was fired and then arrested for signing an affidavit in 2017 saying he didn’t think a friend could get a fair trial in Wood County because of improperly close relationships between the county sheriff, the district attorney and the state district judge in Wood County.
The verdict in favor of Terry Bevill, 64, came on the second day of jury deliberations in the trial of Bevill’s wrongful-termination suit before U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III.
Bevill’s suit contends he was fired in 2017 by David Dobbs, then the mayor of Quitman, as a result of pressure from Tom Castloo, then the Wood County sheriff; Jim Wheeler, the district attorney at the time; and Jeff Fletcher, who presided over the state district court for Wood County — the three officials Bevill identified in his affidavit by office, though not by name, as comprising a “dangerous combination” of “influential persons.”
Dobbs, Castloo, Wheeler and Fletcher were all defendants in the suit, along with the city of Quitman and Wood County. The eight-member jury’s verdict exonerated only the county, of which Quitman is the seat. The other defendants were found liable, collectively, for $18 million in compensatory damages and $3.35 million in punitive damages.
At the heart of the case is a June 2, 2017, affidavit by Bevill, attached to a motion for a change of venue filed on behalf of his friend, in which the police captain said a fair trial in Wood County was impossible in part because of the improperly close relationships between the sheriff, the DA and the judge.
Bevill claims he was fired by Dobbs because of pressure from Castloo, Wheeler and Fletcher — the “trilogy of power” in the largely rural East Texas county, as Laura Benitez Geisler, one of Bevill’s lead attorneys, called them in closing arguments Wednesday.
After the verdict was returned, Geisler said: “Mr. Bevill finally got his day in court, and justice was done.”
Sean McCaffity, Geisler’s co-counsel and partner in Sommerman, McCaffity, Quesada & Geisler of Dallas, said: “The price of freedom can never truly be measured, but there are times when you have to put a dollar value on it to make sure people understand that both justice and accountability matter. This jury spoke clearly of their belief in our fundamental rights, their value and the importance of justice in today’s divided world. I am so proud of and happy for Terry Bevill.”
Attorneys for Dobbs, the city of Quitman and Wheeler did not respond to requests for comment. Will Wassdorf of the Texas attorney general’s office, who represented Fletcher, the former judge, said he forwarded The Texas Lawbook’s request for comment to the AG’s press office, which did not respond.
A spokesperson for Robert Scott Davis of Tyler, who represented Castloo and Wood County, said: “We are happy that the jury determined that Wood County had no liability. However, we are disappointed in the verdict against the individual defendants. Our legal team is thoroughly reviewing the verdict and exploring all available options, including potential grounds for an appeal.”
The friend for whom Bevill signed the 2017 affidavit, David McGee, was the Wood County jail administrator, high in the command structure of then-sheriff Castloo. McGee had been arrested for, and was later convicted before Judge Fletcher of, tampering with a government record to secure the release of a jail inmate with whom he was sexually involved.
Bevill’s affidavit was attached to an unsuccessful motion by McGee’s lawyer for a change of venue.On the day a Wood County jury found McGee guilty, Fletcher issued a bench warrant for Bevill’s arrest on a charge of aggravated perjury. Bevill was no-billed by a Wood County grand jury, but not until 16 months after his arrest. Jurors were told that by the time Bevill was cleared of wrongdoing, his 19-year career in law enforcement was dead and his reputation in the county where he’d lived most of his life was in tatters.
For previous coverage of the trial from The Lawbook’s Bruce Tomaso, click here.