Defendants in the federal civil suit range from the sheriff of Pasquotank County to attorneys both on the state and federal level and a special agent of the United States Treasury.

“At least fifty-nine felony charges against plaintiff Jonathan Davenport have been dismissed by the United States Attorney's Office and the (Pasquotank County) District Attorney's Office,” the lawsuit filed Friday says. “That alone should suffice for a showing of bad faith and malicious and wanton conduct and harassment.”

Additionally, according to the lawsuit, an automobile, truck, power boat, pontoon boat, two Jet Skis and an executive desk were seized or confiscated from Davenport, who now lives in California, by Pasquotank County Sheriff Randy Cartwright in January and February of 2010 when he was arrested for theft, embezzlement and fraud of his own lawfully obtained property.

The lawsuit contends that the sheriff's office immediately transferred possession and control of the property to Billy Roughton, Davenport's former business partner, who alleged that Davenport came onto the Nissan car lot they formerly owned together and stole several automobiles after the plaintiff was no longer an owner. “However, Roughton waited a year to report this theft. It is still unknown what theory supported some of the allegedly stolen property taken by the sheriff and handed over to Roughton. Davenport's entire family was threatened with arrest for possession of stolen property unless Davenport ceded his property to the Pasquotank sheriff.”

Davenport owned the Elizabeth City Nissan dealership from 1998 to 2001. At that time Roughton became a 51 percent owner. Davenport transferred his interest to Roughton in 2008, making him the sole owner.

For several weeks after the transfer, Davenport stayed on as a dealer-operator and there were no allegations of criminal or civil wrongdoing when Davenport left in 2009, according to the suit.

Soon after Davenport's departure, Roughton reportedly began having financial audit problems with Nissan, which compelled him to place several million dollars in a type of trust account. “By then, plaintiff was at another dealership and had began to advertise in the Elizabeth City area. The competition incensed Defendant Roughton and his emails showed it. Roughton blamed his business problems on Davenport and hatched scheme after scheme to ruin Davenport's life. Roughton actually said so.”

Roughton initially sought to sue Davenport, but their release following the transfer prohibited that. “Roughton conspired with his own lawyer, the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office, the Pasquotank County District Attorney and others to have Davenport arrested. In one of those emails the defendants discuss it being their best/last chance to get the criminal authorities involved. It worked.”

The lawsuit compares the conspiracy to have Davenport arrested to the novel Moby Dick. “Defendants … used their influence to pursue plaintiff like Captain Ahab in state and federal court and though every charge plaintiff has faced so far has been dismissed, they have managed to keep his property legally now for four years at warehouse owned by Roughton's partnership.”

There are still, the lawsuit notes, six felony indictments against Davenport for alleged corporate malfeasance, which, it says, “The state of North Carolina has no chance of winning and has even said so. In two years, the state has refused to even set a trial date. The remaining charges lack probable cause, as have all the rest, in that they accuse plaintiff of stealing his own money for paying himself too much while he was the sole manager of the business and a 49 percent owner.”

If anything, the lawsuit states, “The remaining charges are more specious than the previously dismissed charges — which explains why the state refuses to set a trial date.”

The suit seeks claims on 14 points of civil damages that range from false arrest and abuse of process to violation of the storage agreement of Davenport's property to violations of his civil rights under the United States Constitution.

“Plaintiff was damaged by having charges hanging over his head for a year that carried well over a decade in prison,” the suit says. “Moreover, plaintiff had to retain and pay for qualified legal counsel. He also suffered personal embarrassment and further damage to his professional reputation due to media accounts containing untrue and salacious allegations.”