Federal judge gives Evans' lawyers more time for discovery in JCPD corruption suit

A federal judge has dismissed all of Johnson City and police officers' motions to throw out a lawsuit that claims corruption related to convicted police investigations into convicted child sex predator Sean Williams. In an order filed Thursday, Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee, also granted additional discovery time to legal counsel for Mikayla Evans, the Kingsport woman who filed the suit in 2024. The order clears the way for a jury trial and more evidence collection for Evans' lawyers. A scheduling conference for the suit is now set for April 6 at 9 a.m. Greer's order requires Evans' and the city's attorneys to file a plan for discovery at least two days before the conference. Additional discovery allows both parties to gather more evidence on their claims before heading to trial or settlement. A scheduling conference allows the judge and attorneys to plan filing and discovery deadlines, and a trial date. Originally, Evans' attorneys had from Jan. 29, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2025 to conduct discovery for the suit. They've claimed that the volume of filings during this period by the city and officers placed restricted time, preventing a fair chance to conduct discovery. "The Court agrees that heavy dispositive motion practice could have delayed or prevented the pursuit of discovery. This litigation has no shortage of filings," Greer wrote in the order. "It is conceivable that the timeline of this litigation could have placed constraints on the pursuit of discovery." Attorneys for the city and officers cannot motion for summary judgement or dismissal until after this new discovery period is completed. In an email to Six Rivers Media, city spokeswoman Sarah Nobles confirmed the city would be refiling these motions. "Thus far, as the Court has stated, the plaintiff has not been able to provide proof of bribery or corruption," Nobles said in the email. "The Court has broad discretion to grant further discovery for the parties prior to considering motions for summary judgment. Those motions will be refiled after the conclusion of this round of discovery." Filed in June 2024, Evans' civil rights lawsuit claims that several Johnson City police officers were paid off to protect Williams from prosecution over the years leading up to his arrest. The officers sued include the former police chief Karl Turner, Toma Sparks, Brady Higgins, Jeff Legault, Kevin Peters and Justin Jenkins. While Turner has retired from the department, Sparks, Higgins, Legault and Jenkins still work for JCPD, according to city records. In September 2020, Evans fell five stories from Williams' Main Street apartment in downtown Johnson City and suffered life-threatening injuries. In addition to her lawsuit allegations, she claims Williams pushed her out of his apartment window after drugging and attempting to rape her. Evans' lawsuit is one of two major and ongoing federal civil suits against the city and JCPD, the other filed in 2022 by a former prosecutor that worked for JCPD, Kat Dahl. Last year, the city approved funds for a total $30 million settlement for a lawsuit filed by multiple women, identified as Jane Does, in 2023. In February, a federal judged approved the $4.2 million class action part of the suit, allowing all women who reported sexual assault to JCPD between 2019 and 2022 to receive compensation. Greer is the same judge who sentenced Williams to 95 years in prison in February 2025 for production of child porn and his escape from custody after a multi-state manhunt led to his final arrest in November 2023. Williams has also been accused of drugging and raping more than 60 women and children. A jury convicted Williams of meth and cocaine charges in North Carolina's western district court on March 3, and a sentencing date has not been set. He still awaits a trial for the North Carolina child porn charges.