JONESBORO — A federal lawsuit filed against Craighead County and several current or former sheriff’s office personnel accuses deputies of arresting a man without probable cause and alleges the department failed to preserve or concealed body-camera footage related to the incident.
Devin Zayne Griffin, representing himself, filed the 33-page civil rights complaint on June 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. The lawsuit stems from Griffin’s arrest on June 17, 2023, following two domestic-disturbance calls involving Griffin and his wife. Craighead County officials have not yet responded to the complaint as of this report.
Griffin names Craighead County and eight sheriff’s office employees as defendants, including deputies Connor Richardson, Levi Chism, Moisses Arellano, David McCarthy, Jordan Drum, and Jason Allen, along with retired Capt. Ron Richardson and FOIA custodian Starleigh Richardson. No records indicate that the defendants have been served with the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges Griffin was arrested inside his home following the second domestic-disturbance call, despite his wife reportedly telling deputies that Griffin had not harmed her. Griffin claims deputies entered his home, detained him without cause, and proceeded to handcuff him before Deputy Chism formally arrested him on suspicion of third-degree assault and second-degree false imprisonment, both misdemeanors. The arrest occurred less than three seconds after Griffin requested an attorney, according to the complaint.
Griffin’s account disputes portions of deputies’ official narratives, which state Griffin's wife reported that he yelled at her, blocked a doorway, and prevented her from leaving during an argument after she returned home following their initial dispute. Deputies documented no physical injury, and Griffin has denied becoming violent during the incident.
Prosecutors dismissed the criminal charges against Griffin nearly six months later, on Dec. 12, 2023, the lawsuit states. Griffin claims the experience caused anxiety, harmed family relationships, damaged his employment prospects, and forced financial hardship, including withdrawing retirement funds to cover expenses.
A central focus of Griffin’s complaint is his allegation that body-camera footage from deputies at the scene was deleted improperly. Griffin claims the sheriff’s office failed to retain video evidence in violation of its written policies. Those policies allegedly required preservation of recordings linked to criminal investigations until the cases were fully adjudicated and, in situations involving potential civil matters, for at least three years.
According to the lawsuit, Griffin’s public-records requests in December 2025 revealed that video footage from deputies Moisses Arellano, Jordan Drum, and David McCarthy was missing. Griffin alleges the sheriff’s office initially told him there were no responsive records before acknowledging the deletion of the body-camera evidence months later. He also accuses FOIA custodian Starleigh Richardson, who managed his records requests, of providing misleading or contradictory responses regarding the existence of footage.
Assistant Chief Deputy Jason Allen, who is also named as a defendant, is alleged to have certified the deletion of the recordings under a 180-day retention rule. Griffin contends this explanation conflicts with his criminal case timeline and the stated body-camera policy.
The complaint further alleges that Deputy Connor Richardson, during the incident, misrepresented facts to supervisors to justify Griffin’s arrest. Griffin also claims behavior by deputies, including abusive language and threats to prosecute him without justification, violated his constitutional rights.
The same lawsuit draws attention to family relationships within the sheriff’s office, asserting that Capt. Ron Richardson influenced proceedings as the superior officer responsible for investigatory assignments. Ron Richardson is identified in the suit as Connor Richardson’s father and Starleigh Richardson’s brother-in-law.
Griffin’s complaint demands compensatory and punitive damages, a court declaration affirming his constitutional rights were violated, and unspecified additional relief. He has also requested a jury trial.
One of the named defendants, Moisses Arellano, has been separately accused of excessive force in an unrelated federal lawsuit filed in August. Arellano, now with the Arkansas State Police, allegedly used force against an 18-year-old during a traffic stop in Manila earlier this month.
Craighead County Assistant Chief Deputy Jason Allen, now sheriff-elect, told NEA Report that he had not been aware of Griffin’s lawsuit prior to being contacted but declined to comment further.
The case is filed as *Griffin v. Richardson et al.*, No. 3:26-cv-00172-BSM in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.