In July of 2002, the "A Double Dose of Excessive Force In Shasta County"1 story was exposed to the public. On June 12, 2002, Dusty Lane Rhoads, 40, of Tehama County was attacked and his 20 month old daughter Faith was pepper 2 sprayed by two plain clothed special investigators who worked for the Shasta County District Attorney ("D.A."). This occurred while Rhoads was sitting inside his 1985 Ford van with his baby. The van's engine was running to operate the air conditioner and radio, while his wife Kathy Ann Rhoads, 31, was inside the California Street Office of CalWorks in Redding. This Special Investigators who had failed to identify themselves prior to the attack on Rhoads and the baby were later identified as Officer Robert Curato with the pepper spray, and Officer Jeff Forrester wielding a gun. 

Fearing for his and his baby's lives, Rhoads fled this attack. He was later apprehended a few blocks away. He was on the front lawn of a house where he had found a sprinkler running, and was washing the pepper spray off the baby and himself. The baby was later treated by her doctor at Seeley Medical in Red Bluff for pepper spray burns on her face and upper body. 

Rhodes was arrested and charged with "Child Endangerment" and "Delaying A Peace Officer." Shortly after his arrival at the Shasta County Jail, Rhoads was severely beaten by Shasta County Sheriff's Deputy Terry Seals and another unidentified officer. In attempting to cover this up, Rhoads was placed in Administrative Segregation without receiving any medical attention for his injuries. The following day, June 13, 2002, Rhoads was rushed to Redding Medical Center for emergency treatment. 

On June 14, 2002, Rhoads appeared before Judge Stephen Jahr, and was appointed Attorney Jim Wilson of the Jack Suter Contract Public Defender Office to represent him. At this time, Rhoads' face was so swollen from the beating that he could not see, and he had to be led around by Sheriff's Deputy Lorraine Blankenship. Rhoads informed the judge of the beating and was admonished to keep his mouth shut. Not only did the judge fail to act on this information, but this inaction appeared to give authorization for jail staff to continue abusing and harassing Rhoads. 

Rhoads' newly appointed attorney Jim Wilson complained to the Jail Administration, and then filed a complaint and lawsuit in Federal Court. The Jail ignored the complaint, and attorney Wilson failed to pursue the federal lawsuit. This set the stage for further and increased terrorism towards Rhoads by Jail Staff and Shasta County, and brings us now to the newly discovered information that was not included in the first article. 

A series of events such as this causes one to wonder what is behind each action: Why were plain clothed Shasta County Special Investigators for the District Attorney involved in a traffic matter from Tehama County? An unpaid $618 traffic fine, a matter that normally would have been referred to regular police, not Special Investigators for the D.A. in another county. And more importantly, was there something beyond the obvious fear for this baby's safety that made Rhoads flee? 

There appears to be an answer to this last question: Just prior to the pepper spray attack, Rhoads had been the victim of a violent home invasion where he was attacked, stabbed, and cut. The Rhoads then went into hiding pending an appointment with representatives of a Victim of Violent Crime Relocation Program, which was scheduled for June 13, 2002, at the Shasta District Attorney's Office. 

All of this stems from his testimony in a 1987 in a Tehama County case that sent 36 individuals to prison for drug offenses. Thus, at the time Rhoads was accosted by the then unidentified Special Investigators, he truly feared for his life, fleeing with his pepper sprayed baby, as he believed he was being attacked because of his prior testimony. These people are now out of prison, he was recently attacked in the home invasion, and he had no reason to believe this latest attack was not from the same people. Then, since he had an appointment at the District Attorney's Office the next day, he had no inkling these attackers were with that office. 

While this explains why Rhoads fled, there is still no answer as to why the authorities treated, and continue to treat, him like he was a member of the Al Qaida terrorist organization. Following the Jail beating of Rhoads on June 12, 2002, he was housed in Administrative Segregation Unit of the Jail, and was originally listed as one of the potential witnesses to the violent attack on the Jail Guard on July 22, 2002, by Ben Williams and Paul Smith, Jr. Rhoads was moved to another housing unit on July 11 or 12, 2002. Then on July 23, 2002, he was confronted with none other than Royce Broxson, who was placed in the same unit, and who was one of the very people his previous testimony had sent to prison. 

Broxson had been arrested for hitting a Tim Rhoades in the head with a beer bottle. Somehow, Broxson had falsely assumed that Tim Rhoades was the cousin of Dusty Rhoads, and that the family had ordered Dusty to assault Broxson. Note the different spelling. The two, Rhoads and Rhoades are not related. 

Similarly, Dusty Rhoads believed that Broxson had orders to assault him because of his prior testimony. From July 11 or 12, to September 13, 2002, these two men lived in mortal fear of each other. They both made complaints to Shasta County Sheriff's Officers Starrs and Benton. Officer Benton had been a Tehama County Deputy at the time of the 1987 incident, and was well aware of who Rhoads was, but chose to ignore the problem. 

In the mean time, Rhoads' Public Defender, Jim Wilson, informed him he had no defense to the charges, and that he would not introduce into evidence any of the facts surrounding Rhoads' baby being pepper sprayed, the home invasion, or the Victim Witness Relocation efforts, any one of which a reasonable competent attorney could use to explain why Rhoads fled. Wilson also had taken the unprecedented action of having the Federal lawsuit dismissed without ever consulting with Rhoads or obtaining his permission. All of this makes one wonder if some kind of pressure was placed on Wilson. 

Rhoads had initially objected to the appointment of the Jack Suter Office, and Jim Wilson, because several years previously, Rhoads was granted a Marsden Motion to remove that office for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, an action that creates a permanent conflict of interest. Rhoads reasserted this conflict claim during a court appearance on August 19, 2002, following Wilson's still unexplained actions described above; when he then instead, attempted to coerce Rhoads into taking a three year prison sentence plea bargain deal. On September 3, 2002, attorney Wilson asked the court to remove him due to a conflict. However, the conflict he listed claimed two other clients had written him letters that expressed a fear that Rhoads was a potential witness against them. The court then assigned Michael Sharp as his new public defender. 

Needless to say, the stress between Rhoads and Broxson caused enormous tension in the Jail housing unit. Other inmates complained, and instead of simply separating the two, the Jail chose to move both of them to Administrative Segregation on September 13, 2002. Only this time they were not only in the same unit, but placed together in the same cell. This in itself a violation of existing medical orders since they both suffer from grand mal seizures, and therefrom, both require lower bunks. Both Rhoads and Broxson sent numerous grievances to jail officials which were ignored, as well as were verbal complaints. 

On September 28, 2002, both mailed complaints to the Department of Justice, also unanswered. The question has been raised that asks if Jail Staff ever delivered any of these complaints. Rhoads was also denied access to his attorney during this period of time. Rhoads and Broxson literally lived in mortal fear of each other for 21 days; afraid to sleep or turn their back on the other. Rhoads was also faced with almost daily harassment and threats from Officer Terry Seals, the Officer who beat him on June 12, 2002. 

Finally, on October 3, 2002, Rhoads' attorney became aware of what was taking place. Mr. Sharp placed a call to Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker to verify the 1987 situation and testimony. Because at that time Sheriff Parker had been the detective involved in the case, he was intimately familiar with that situation. He verified all of Rhoads' claims. Sharp then contacted Sheriff Jim Pope of Shasta County with this story. The verbal effluent ran immediately down hill to the Jail, and the Jail administration immediately separated Rhoads and Broxson, moving Rhoads to a different housing unit. 

Some questions remain: Why did all of these Shasta County Officers, who were aware of the problems, fail or refuse to take action and remedy this dangerous situation? Why did Rhoads first attorney literally abandon him? Was the Lawyer threatened? The "20-20" television news magazine recently labeled the Shasta County Justice System as among the ten most corrupt in the United States. Is this simply more evidence to support that allegation! Rhoads' wife Kathy remains in hiding. 

1. See  excessive_force  for this article.

2. This "pepper spray" was actually "CO" (oleoresin capsicum) a high strength spray used by law enforcement.