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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Former Republican Rep. Mark Patterson of Boise has taken the initial step in filing a lawsuit against Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney after Raney stripped Patterson of his concealed weapons license last year.
The Idaho Statesman reports (http://bit.ly/1hXoZxr) in a story on Monday that Patterson last month filed a tort claim, a precursor to a lawsuit against a public entity.
Raney revoked Patterson's concealed weapons permit in late October for not revealing an attempted rape conviction from 1974.
Patterson was 21 when he was charged with rape in Tampa, Fla. A 46-year-old woman told police that Patterson forced her to have sex twice and threatened to have his Doberman pinscher attack her if she refused, according to police reports.
Patterson served time in jail before agreeing that July to plead guilty to the lesser charge of assault with intent to commit rape and received a withheld judgment and five years' probation.
The case emerged publicly when Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney revoked Patterson's concealed weapons permit on grounds he hadn't disclosed the matter when he applied for the permit in 2007 and when he renewed it in 2012.
Patterson contends he didn't commit the rape, saying he pleaded guilty in the case because he was frightened and was told it would be expunged from his record.
Though his concealed weapons permit was revoked, as long as Patterson remained a legislator he was able to continue carrying a concealed gun without a permit. But he quit the Legislature in January under pressure from the Republican Party.
Sheriff spokesman Patrick Orr says Raney doesn't consider the county vulnerable to Patterson's claim.
Attorney James Jacobson of Meridian on March 5 wrote that he was filing a claim on behalf of Patterson against Raney. The letter states that Jacobson is still working on collecting information for the lawsuit.
"We are still in the process of obtaining claim support documentation," he wrote. "We will submit additional information upon receipt."
Ada County Chief Deputy Clerk Phil McGrane on Monday said no additional information had been supplied.
Jacobson declined to comment.
"I'm not going to provide any information period, end of story," Jacobson told the newspaper.
In the past, Patterson has contended that Raney revoked the concealed weapons permit as an act of retaliation against him for, among other things, sponsoring legislation during the 2013 session that would have punished Idaho law enforcement officials for helping the federal government confiscate any newly banned weapons.
Raney was opposed to that bill.
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Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com
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