Coral Gables arrested a shotgun owner in his own yard. Why he’s taking his fight to City Hall

Simon Sullenberger, a 28-year-old nutritionist, was arrested in his own yard after Coral Gables police officers claimed he pointed a shotgun at them. Video surveillance showed he didn’t appear to aim the weapon at anybody. Prosecutors declined to press attempted murder charges.

But more than one year later, Sullenberger is still facing two felony charges and his legal fight is now stretching to City Hall.

Sullenberger’s attorneys want to question under oath Coral Gables City Attorney Miriam Ramos, and a city-contracted attorney, Israel Reyes, about their roles in pushing a plea deal.

That deal, according to his lawyers: The state would eventually drop charges against Sullenberger, but only if he agrees to halt a civil lawsuit filed against Coral Gables police alleging wrongful arrest.

His attorneys say the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, and the lawyers for the city, are violating ethical rules. “Simply, an attorney may not seek advantage in civil court by threatening criminal consequences,” his lawyer, Robert Pertiera wrote in a court filing.

Ramos and Reyes, a former Miami-Dade judge and contracted legal advisor for the police department, declined to comment but say in court filings that they don’t have to be questioned in a deposition because their discussions are protected by attorney-client privilege.

In a court filing on Monday, a legal expert hired by the city said no ethical rules were broken because the criminal case had already been filed by prosecutors over a year ago with no input from Ramos and Reyes. They say they were only involved on behalf of the victims: the police officers.

“There was no threat of future criminal prosecution,” lawyer Kevin Tynan wrote.

For now, Sullenberger is facing trial on charges of resisting arrest with violence, and battery on a law-enforcement officer. The lawsuit was first reported by the Miami New Times.

At a Feb. 18 court hearing, a Miami-Dade judge will consider whether to order Ramos and Reyes to sit for a deposition.

Coral Gables police arrested Sullenberger on Dec. 2, 2017 at his home on the 800 block of Santiago Street.

Officers rushed to the house after a residential alarm mistakenly went off. They saw Sullenberger, sitting in the yard apparently cleaning the shotgun for an upcoming hunting trip. “I have a shotgun, don’t come on the property,” he told the officers who approached in the dark.

Two Gables officer surrounded him, guns drawn. In the standoff, Officer Natalie Flores claimed Sullenberger “made direct eye contact with me and pointed the shotgun directly at me,” according to the arrest report.

The home’s video surveillance depicted the tense confrontation, with Sullenberger backing away, over a bush, pointing his finger at one officer with his right hand, the shotgun pointed downward in his left.

Then, Sullenberger lifted his left arm and dropped the weapon. One officer ran in, scooping up the shotgun and moving it the other side of a short wall.

But as officers approached, there was a scuffle. The video showed the grappling spill over the wall. A neighbor, Luis Miguel Santamaria, interceded as Flores was about to shoot Sullenberger with a Taser stun gun. The officers wound up shooting Sullenberger with the stun gun.

The neighbor, Santamaria, a doctor, was charged with misdemeanor obstruction of justice. He wound up agreeing to not sue Coral Gables in exchange for the charges to be dropped, according to Sullenberg’s lawyers.

Sullenberger claims he was offered a similar deal — entering a program for first-time offender in exchange for dropping the lawsuit. He said no.

The man’s lawyer, Robert Pertiera, says Florida legal ethics rules “forbid threatening criminal charges to obtain an advantage in a civil matter,” according to court filings.

Sullenberger’s lawyers, in court filings, has said their client would agree to the “pre-trial intervention program,” but only if weren’t forced to drop the lawsuit.

In court filings, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office says Ramos and Reyes were acting for the city and police department. “They did not conduct any independent investigation, nor will they be called by the state as fact witnesses,” prosecutor Jacarri Walker wrote.

This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 4:34 PM.