The Pima County Board of Supervisors approved a $700,000 settlement with a couple who had claimed their two sons were temporarily removed from their home because they refused to cooperate in a criminal investigation into break-ins and illegal parties at several high-end homes.
The lawsuit was filed in 2017 by Karl and Gretchen Daschke, who said their older son was falsely identified as the mastermind behind a string of illegal parties that took place in the homes, and resulted in more than 50 arrests made by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department after a yearlong investigation.
Charges against the then-16-year-old boy were dropped. During the course of the investigation, the Arizona Department of Child Safety removed both sons from the home, but they were returned after a Pima County Juvenile Court order days later.
The lawsuit initially named Deputies Theodore Hartenstein and J.P. Siress, Sheriff Mark Napier and the Pima County Board of Supervisors among the defendants. All but Hartenstein were removed from the lawsuit during the course of court proceedings. Hartenstein reached a settlement with the Daschkes last month that was subject to supervisors’ approval during Tuesday’s meeting.
The only remaining defendants in the case, as of Dec. 5, are DCS employees Gerardo Telemantes, Mildred Jimenez and Valerie Wilhoite.
