ST. LOUIS - Dennis Crocker, Loretta Faye Dempsey and One Stop Muffler filed a federal complaint on October 13 in the Eastern District of Missouri against the City of Park Hills and individual defendants for violations of the U.S. Constitution, false arrest and trespass.
Other defendants are Rachel St. Pierre, Ray Robertson, Daniel Naucke, John Clark, Richard McFarland and Mark McFarland. According to the complaint, for approximately 33 years, Dennis, through One Stop, operated a brake and muffler business within the City of Park Hills.
Dennis alleges that in 2017 Defendants began to issue multiple ordinance violations against Dennis and One Stop. By October 2021, Defendants had issued more than 250 ordinance violations against Dennis and One Stop and more than 30 ordinance violations against Loretta.
Defendants also declared the building to be dangerous and a public nuisance, claiming the roof structure was severely at risk and that there was junk, debris, derelict vehicles and interior fire damage. In October 2020, Defendants refused to renew the business license for Dennis and One Stop, with McFarland stating he would never give One Stop a business license despite the business having operated for more than 30 years there, the suit claims.
Dennis alleges that from March through May 2021, Defendants turned off the water and electricity to the property and removed the water meter and the electric meter, and cut and removed the padlocks Plaintiffs had placed on the building. Dennis alleges that the city plans to build a new city hall on the property across from his, which is why the defendants are trying to get his business out of there so they can take over that property too.
Crocker is represented by David M. Duree.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri case number 4:21-cv-01233-SRC