By Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch
August 12, 2024

A northwest Iowa man is suing two Cherokee County deputies, alleging they mistakenly entered and searched his home while attempting to search a neighbor’s house.

The lawsuit, initially filed in state court before being transferred to federal court, seeks unspecified damages from deputies Jason Galeano and Isaiah Isaacs for trespassing, assault and conducting a warrantless search. The county itself is not named as a defendant in the case, although the deputies are being sued for acting in their official capacity as county law enforcement officers.

Dustin Konrady, a resident of Cherokee, alleges that on the evening of Dec. 18, 2023, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a man named Terrance Bute who alleged that a man named Michael Lewis had held a gun to his head and hit him with the weapon. City and county police responded to the call.

According to the lawsuit, officers’ body-camera video at the scene shows Galeano asking other officers, “Which is the house?” in reference to the house where the alleged assault took place. An officer can allegedly be heard responding that Lewis’ address was 514 N. 5th St., which was a few houses away from where the officers were standing.

The lawsuit alleges that Bute showed signs of intoxication and that he told officers Lewis had guns in the bedroom of his house. When Galeano asked Bute, “Which house is it?” Bute allegedly provided a confusing and vague answer referencing a long driveway with a sport utility vehicle. At one point, according to the lawsuit, Lewis left his residence to speak to police and was then handcuffed and led away from the scene by police who allegedly failed to confirm his address.

Believing the house at 510 N. 5th St., was Lewis’ residence, Isaacs and Galeano searched the porch, found a key to the door, and entered the home, according to the lawsuit.  The deputies searched the home’s kitchen and basement, then conversed in the living room while covering their body cameras and microphones for several seconds, the lawsuit alleges.

They then entered the bedroom, according to the lawsuit, waking Konrady and his dogs. Galeano asked whether they were in the Lewis house and Konrady responded that Lewis lived next door, according to the lawsuit. The officers allegedly apologized and left, then went next door at which point Galeano can be heard on the video telling Isaacs, “This is more like it.”

The lawsuit alleges the deputies then searched Lewis’ home despite the lack of a warrant. Lewis was never charged with any crimes in connection with the incident.

The deputies knew their warrantless search of the two houses was unlawful as evidenced by their efforts to cover their body cameras and microphones while inside each of the two houses, the lawsuit claims.

The county has yet to file a response to the lawsuit on behalf of the deputies. Cherokee County Sheriff Derek Scott declined to comment on the case, noting that the litigation is still pending.

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Deputy Editor Clark Kauffman has worked during the past 30 years as both an investigative reporter and editorial writer at two of Iowa’s largest newspapers, the Des Moines Register and the Quad-City Times. He has won numerous state and national awards for reporting and editorial writing.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and X.

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