Jury Vindicates Sheriff’s Sergeant in Woman’s Arrest

A Ventura County sheriff’s sergeant was vindicated Friday when a jury found that he acted properly in arresting a Thousand Oaks doctor’s wife who argued with him over treatment of an injured child.

In a 10-2 vote, jurors in the Superior Court civil trial found that Sgt. Robert K. Sparks legally arrested Patricia Wilmeth in September, 1989, and used no excessive force when taking her into custody.

Wilmeth, 47, had sought more than $300,000 in damages, claiming that she suffered head and wrist injuries when she was forced into Sparks’ patrol car. Sparks’ attorney, Alan E. Wisotsky, told jurors that Wilmeth injured herself by flailing her arms to keep from being arrested.

Wisotsky said after the verdict that Sparks is relieved that jurors sided with him.

“It was nice to finally get this one over and find out the majority of the jury vindicated Sgt. Sparks after six years,” he said.

Gary S. Casselman, who represented Wilmeth during the two-week trial, said he was not surprised by the verdict.

“I told the jury that I understand people want to support law enforcement at all costs, and the defendants had a smug belief they could say whatever they wanted and the jury would believe them,” Casselman said. “And my suspicions were correct.”

Sparks, a patrol deputy at the time, arrested Wilmeth following an argument over who should treat an 8-year-old girl who was hit by a car in front of the Wilmeth home in the exclusive North Ranch subdivision of Westlake Village.

Dr. Jo Wilmeth treated the girl but his actions were objected to by two county firefighters, in part because he did not give them his medical identification. During the incident, Dr. Wilmeth, who for 17 years led a medical squad of search-and-rescue volunteers for the Sheriff’s Department, became angry with Sparks for failing to tell the firefighters who he was.

After the girl was taken away by ambulance, Patricia Wilmeth joined the argument. Sparks and other witnesses told jurors that Patricia Wilmeth yelled at the deputy for at least a minute--and maybe as long as five--and called him an off-color name before she was arrested.

Sparks said he warned her repeatedly to step back or she would be arrested. Following her arrest, the district attorney’s office declined to prosecute her.

During the trial, Casselman argued that Wilmeth was expressing her free-speech rights and did nothing to justify her arrest. The attorney also said that Sparks was not performing any official duty during the argument and consequently that Wilmeth was not preventing him from doing his job--a key factor that had to be weighed in deciding if the arrest was legal.

Wisotsky argued that Sparks was on duty and that Wilmeth’s actions interfered with the deputy’s ability to do his job.

Following the verdict, Wilmeth asked to address jurors outside court and burst into tears when she started to speak, witnesses said. She then repeated her claims that she was mistreated.

“Even after the verdict, she continues to refuse to accept responsibility for what happened and I don’t think we’ll ever convince her,” Wisotsky said.