News - National
'What gall!' Inmate sues his crime victims
Posted: Jul 30, 2010 8:56 AM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
A Florida inmate has filed a lawsuit seeking $500,000 in damages from three men who caught him red-handed with a stolen bicycle, claiming they roughed him up, according to a newspaper report.
Michael Dupree is serving a 12-year sentence for burglary and cocaine possession stemming from a 2007 break-in of a van in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Dupree allegedly stole the bicycle locked inside and was apprehended after the owner, Anthony McKoy, saw him with the bike down the street, the St. Petersburg Times reported.
Dupree, who was homeless at the time, according to a police report, claimed McKoy and two others pointed a gun at him, handcuffed him and placed a knee painfully in his back.
In his suit, which he filed on his own without the help of an attorney, Dupree said that the take-down "resulted in permanent disabilities and psychological disorders which the Plaintiff continues to suffer."
After being served with the suit, McKoy said: "I thought it was a joke. I'm the victim."
"It's laughable. It's a waste of taxpayer money," he told the St. Petersburg Times. "What gall. I guess time in prison just makes you go crazy."
As Seen On News 5
