$10 Million Suit filed in 2003 Pinellas County Jail death of Latino Man

The family of a Pasco man, Larry Germonprez, who died two years ago today in the Pinellas County Jail, filed a $10-million lawsuit this week alleging that corrections deputies killed him. Although State Attorney Bernie McCabe cleared the deputies of any criminal wrongdoing in May 2003, the sheriff's internal affairs investigation remains unfinished - 22 months later. The delay angers Germonprez's family. "It tells me that they are definitely guilty and they are trying to hold this off as long as they can in hopes that it will go away," said Jennifer Pugh, 38, Germonprez's ex-wife and mother to two of his children. "That's not going to happen. We don't want his death to be for nothing." Germonprez of Zephyrhills died shortly after a struggle with deputies as they tried to move him from one cell to another. An autopsy found Germonprez had 17 rib fractures, which would be consistent with the deputies compressing him on a bed. Germonprez was arrested and booked into the jail in March 2003, after he left the scene of an accident involving his vehicle. Then, in what appears to be an unprecedented decision, the Sheriff's Office requested a review of Germonprez's autopsy. Sheriff Jim Coats said he knew of no other such request. He would not detail why the autopsy was re-examined. Then-Sheriff Everett Rice told a reporter Thursday he could not remember what specifically prompted the decision. "If I remember right, it wasn't a normal case. It wasn't a case that was easily resolved." Rice was elected to the state House of Representatives in November. [more]

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