Two Augusta County sheriff’s deputies involved in a 2023 arrest are now facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit alleging excessive use of force.
The lawsuit, filed in Albemarle County Circuit Court by attorneys for Adam Ryan Martin and Tina Marie Lang, names Sgt. William Mikolay and Deputy Mark Stutes.
The suit cites extensive injuries suffered by the plaintiffs at the end of a Sept. 29, 2023, pursuit that began in Augusta County and ended in Albemarle County, and led to the arrest of Martin, who at the time of the incident was wanted on a fentanyl possession charge in Fluvanna County.
ICYMI
Mikolay, in February, entered an Alford plea to a misdemeanor assault and battery charge, resolving the criminal portion of the case, in which he had also faced a felony charge for malicious wounding.
With the Alford plea, the misdemeanor charge against Mikolay was to be taken under advisement for a period of 12 months, with the charge to be dismissed at the conclusion of that period, pending compliance with court conditions.
That could now be the least of the concerns for Mikolay and now also for Stutes, who did not face criminal charges related to the pursuit and arrest, but is now caught up in the civil suit because, as the suit alleges, he “made no attempt to intervene, prevent the use of force, or summon aid” for Lang, whose injuries from the incident included a black eye, a cheek fracture and broken ribs, or Martin, who spent three days in the hospital due to a “significant laceration,” “significant blood loss” and head trauma after his apprehension.
The suit, filed by Richmond-based attorneys M. Scott Fisher Jr. and Clinton W. Verity, asks for $3.35 million in damages from each deputy.
We have reached out to Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith for comment on the suit.
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From previous reporting, we know that, as the pursuit, which began in Augusta County at 3:30 a.m. in the early-morning hours of Sept. 29, 2023, came to a conclusion at the intersection of Dudley Mountain Road and Red Hill Road in Albemarle County, Martin exited his vehicle and ran away on foot, with Stutes in pursuit.
Lang, per the suit, did not leave the vehicle, and remained seated in the passenger seat, “not resisting, yelling, or acting belligerently,” with her hands raised.
Mikolay, according to the suit, “forcibly opened her vehicle door, struck her in the face with a closed fist, pulled her from the vehicle, threw her to the ground, kicked her in the ribs, and handcuffed her.”
“The brutal excessive use of force against Lang resulted in a black eye, fracture to her cheek and broken ribs,” the suit alleges.
Stutes apprehended Martin after a foot chase into a nearby wooded area, and placed him in handcuffs and seated him on the bank of a creek.
Mikolay, according to the suit, left Lang in the custody of an assisting Albemarle County police officer and “ran into the woods with his firearm drawn,” and after reaching Martin, in handcuffs, on the creek bank, “struck Martin multiple times,” using “a hard object believed to be Sgt. Mikolay’s flashlight or firearm.”
“Because Martin was already handcuffed and compliant, no use of force was necessary under any circumstances at all, much less the excessive force Martin suffered at the hands of Sgt. Mikolay,” the suit alleges.
Martin, in and out of consciousness, with “blood pouring down his face,” was pulled to his feet by the deputies, who then slowly escorted him out of the woods, where an Albemarle County police officer, observing Martin “bleeding heavily from his face,” requested EMS to respond.
Mikolay was arrested on Nov. 23, 2023, after an independent investigation conducted by the Virginia State Police. A press release from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office quoted Smith saying the sergeant “was charged at the direction of the Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney. The criminal justice arena will now review the facts surrounding both sides of this case.”
Smith, in an email to employees after Mikolay’s arrest obtained by AFP, indicated that he supported Mikolay “110%,” and that he wanted “our office to stick together throughout this difficult situation.”
Mikolay was placed on paid administrative leave for the intervening 14 months until the criminal matter was resolved with the Alford plea.
Martin pleaded guilty in February 2024 to felony drug possession and eluding police charges and was sentenced to concurrent five-year prison sentences, both with three years, six months suspended.
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Chris Graham
