On Dec. 14, 2005, at around 9 p.m., plaintiff LaMont Tarkington, 33, was a front-seat passenger in a Dodge Magnum midsize sedan that was stopped by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies for a traffic violation east of the intersection of Normandie Avenue and Century Boulevard, in Westmont. Earlier that day, at around 10:15 a.m., three masked men robbed tellers at a Bank of America inside an Albertsons supermarket, in Palmdale, about 60 to 70 miles from where Tarkington’s vehicle was later stopped. The robbers had taken about $12,000 in cash from the bank. Some of the money was "bait money," which are bills with recorded serial numbers, and the currency included at least one dye pack designed to explode and spray dye. During the traffic stop later that evening, Deputy Sheriff Detective Lauren Brown, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, searched the Tarkington’s vehicle, and Detective James Murren assisted in the search of the vehicle at the tow yard. Deputy Sheriff Sergeant Donald Young supervised both Brown and Murren, and also facilitated and supervised the search of the vehicle. Tarkington and the driver of the vehicle were both arrested and charged with the Bank of America robbery. On March 27, 2007, a jury convicted Tarkington on five counts of second-degree robbery and one count of second-degree commercial burglary. The jury also found that Tarkington had robbed the bank for the benefit of a criminal street gang and that a principal involved in the robbery had used a firearm in the commission of the crime. The judge sentenced Tarkington to 39 years and 4 months in state prison. The Court of Appeals later directed that Tarkington be released or retried after finding that one of the arresting officers, Brown, had greatly exaggerated his testimony with regard to some of the evidence found in the vehicle on Dec. 14, 2005. The state had originally decided to retry Tarkington, but ultimately moved to dismiss the criminal case against him. Tarkington sued Young; Brown; Murren; the officers’ employers, the county of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; and the officers’ supervisor, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell. Tarkington alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted malicious prosecution and violations of his civil and constitutional rights, resulting in him being wrongly imprisoned for 12 years. The law firm of Lawrence Beach Allen Choi PC was also initially named as a defendant, but it was ultimately removed from the case. As a result, the matter proceeded against the remaining defendants. It was undisputed that Brown previously testified during the criminal trial that a white T-shirt tank top and a towel were found in the rear hatch area of the Tarkington vehicle during the traffic stop on Dec. 14, 2005, and that he booked into evidence a short nylon stocking, which was tied at the top and contained $59 in coins. According to Brown, the coins had red dye on them and inside the red dye was some type of pepper spray, which he said he could smell. He noted that the dye manufacturer generally places a contaminant in the dye so that when it explodes, it will incapacitate the individual carrying it. The prosecution asked Brown whether there were any other items in the car with a color similar to the color of the coins. Defense counsel objected when Brown began to answer that there was a T-shirt that looked as though it had the same red color. The objection was overruled by the court. During that criminal trial, Brown opened up a bag containing the tank top and towel, and commented that his eyes were burning from the smell. During both the criminal and civil trials, Tarkington denied that he had been involved in the Bank of America robbery on Dec. 14, 2005, or that any items found in the vehicle during the traffic stop were contaminated with red dye. During the civil trial, Tarkington alleged that he was maliciously prosecuted and falsely convicted based on evidence that was misrepresented during the criminal trial and that exculpatory evidence was never turned over to his attorney in the criminal case. Specifically, Tarkington’s counsel contended that an FBI case file containing statements made by four bank tellers and the assistant manager at the bank describing the physical attributes of the robbery suspects was never produced to Tarkington’s criminal attorney. Additionally, during writ of habeas corpus proceedings, Tarkington testified that he kept a sleeveless white shirt and towel in the rear cargo area of his vehicle to clean the chrome on his rim. He maintained that the items had red coloring because, a week prior to being arrested, he had spilled vodka and ruby red cranberry juice, and then used the shirt and towel to clean up the spill. Tarkington’s counsel contended that the results of a DNA test on the black pantyhose believed to be used as a mask during the robbery excluded both Tarkington and the driver of the Dodge Mangum as suspects in the robbery. Tarkington’s counsel also contended that latent fingerprints lifted off of a 2005 Ford Explorer that was believed to be used as the getaway vehicle in the robbery did not match Tarkington’s fingerprints. In addition, counsel presented testimony from a recreational center employee who claimed that, at 10:30 or 10:45 a.m. on the date of the robbery, he saw Tarkington at the recreational center, which is located at 8701 South Street Andrews Place, in Los Angeles. Defense counsel denied that Tarkington was maliciously prosecuted., Tarkington claimed that he suffers emotional distress as a result of the trials, his malicious prosecuton, and his wrongful imprisonment for 12 years.