06/15/2025
The Hidden Attempt: How Judge Butch Gunnels' Actions Satisfy Attempted Second-Degree Murder Under…
**COUNT ELEVEN: CIVIL LIABILITY FOR ATTEMPTED SECOND-DEGREE MURDER UNDER A.R.S. §§ 13-1104 AND 13-1001**
**Against Defendant Judge Butch Gunnels, Individually and in His Personal Capacity**
1. Plaintiff incorporates by reference all preceding paragraphs as if fully set forth herein.
2. On or about May 2024, Plaintiff Joseph Lathus informed the Round Valley Justice Court and Defendant Butch Gunnels that he had recently undergone surgery for oral cancer, including a radical neck dissection, and required disability accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
3. Defendant Gunnels was fully aware that Plaintiff suffered from a medically verified and serious condition that impaired his speech and physical functioning. Defendant nonetheless refused to accommodate Plaintiff’s requests for communication and legal representation assistance.
4. On December 4, 2024, Defendant Gunnels issued a contempt charge and a bench warrant for Plaintiff’s arrest despite having actual knowledge of Plaintiff’s compromised health status, ongoing litigation against Gunnels personally (*Lathus v. County of Apache*), and medical vulnerability.
5. Plaintiff was forced to evacuate his home and live in unsafe, unsanitary conditions while recovering from cancer surgery. He was denied access to heat, water, electricity, or post-surgical follow-up care. Defendant Gunnels knew, or reasonably should have known, that these acts would result in physical deterioration, endangerment of life, and extreme hardship.
6. Under A.R.S. § 13-1104(A)(3), a person commits second-degree murder if, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, the person recklessly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death and thereby causes death.
7. Under A.R.S. § 13-1001(A), a person is criminally liable for an attempt if they intend to commit an offense and engage in conduct constituting a substantial step toward its commission.
8. Plaintiff does not request that this Court determine criminal guilt. Rather, Plaintiff pleads civil liability for actions that meet the legal elements of attempted second-degree murder under Arizona law. This includes:
* Intent to retaliate and punish Plaintiff for protected activity;
* Knowledge of Plaintiff’s compromised medical state;
* Issuance of arrest warrant with foreseeable, extreme physical consequences;
* Actions taken under color of law that abandoned judicial neutrality.
9. These actions constitute not merely gross negligence but an egregious abuse of judicial authority with reckless disregard for Plaintiff’s life and health, sufficient to meet the standard for civil liability for conduct analogous to criminal attempt.
10. WHEREFORE, Plaintiff seeks judgment holding Defendant Gunnels civilly liable for damages arising from conduct meeting the elements of A.R.S. §§ 13-1104 and 13-1001, including compensatory and punitive damages, and further referral of this matter to appropriate federal authorities under 18 U.S.C. § 242 for investigation into criminal civil rights violations.
Attempted Murder by a Justice of the Peace
