A lawsuit was filed Aug. 4 concerning the collection of DNA samples during the serial killer investigation.
In the suit, Floyd M. Wagster, Jr. alleges that in August 2002, employees of the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office repeatedly denied his requests to speak to his attorney and threatened to take Wagster to Drug Court and jail, unless he provided them with a DNA sample.
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Elmer Litchfield, Louisiana State Police Superintendent Terry Landry and Attorney General Richard Ieyoub are named as defendants in the suit.
“After the threats, intimidation, repeated denials of plaintiff’s [Wagster’s] request for an attorney, threatening to handcuff plaintiff and even threatening to incarcerate the plaintiff, plaintiff was forced to allow defendant Litchfield to ‘swab’ his cheek and obtain a DNA sample,” the lawsuit said.
According to the lawsuit, Wagster refused to give a sample because he said he had no connection to any of the murders.
In addition, Wagster alleges in the suit that he cannot retrieve his DNA sample because of the “legislative scheme” currently in place that prevents anyone whose DNA is collected from retrieving it unless the person is acquitted of a crime after an arrest or a conviction is reversed or dismissed.
The suit asks to have this law declared unconstitutional. According to the suit, no other such law exists anywhere else in the country.
In the suit, Wagster also asks to retrieve his DNA sample and all related materials, to remove his DNA record in the state DNA database and to destroy all of the DNA samples taken from him.
“He felt that the DNA dragnet was not fair and that once the suspect had been arrested in the serial killer case that the police no longer needed his DNA,” said James Boren, an attorney for Wagster.
Wagster also is asking for punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and court costs.
The lawsuit also seeks class action status in U.S. District Court and said that others who gave DNA samples during the investigation did not give written consent to have their DNA stored in the Combined DNA Index System or the state DNA database.
According to the suit, authorities collected over 1,200 DNA samples during the 10-month serial killer investigation.
Boren said about 50 to 60 men have contacted him, attorney Jill Craft and attorney Aidan Reynolds with similar complaints.
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Darrell O’Neal said the sheriff’s office had no comment regarding the lawsuit.