ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Two out-of-state residents have filed a federal lawsuit accusing Haywood County officials, a sheriff’s deputy, and several landfill operators of assault, false imprisonment and civil rights violations tied to a June 2025 confrontation in Clyde.

Joseph Joines of Maryland and Angelica Hendon of Florida filed the complaint Aug. 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The suit seeks more than $75,000 in damages and a jury trial.

Named as defendants are Haywood County, Sheriff Bill Wilke in his official capacity, Deputy Michael Buckner, landfill employees Andrew and Michael Ferguson, Two Banks Development LLC, TBD Landfill LLC, Wright Brothers Construction of Tennessee and four unidentified individuals.

The complaint alleges that on June 26, Joines, a contract truck driver hauling storm debris, arrived at the TBD Landfill and was confronted by Ferguson and others over a missing cell phone. Joines denied taking the phone and offered to have his truck searched. When no phone was found, the filing says, the situation escalated.

According to the lawsuit, Andrew Ferguson returned armed with a gun while Buckner and others joined in threatening Joines. As Joines attempted to leave, he said the defendants climbed onto his truck, struck it with a firearm and ordered bulldozers to ram the vehicle, tipping it over. Joines was injured and later treated at a hospital with a concussion.

Hendon, who was parked nearby, said she was also threatened at gunpoint, blocked from leaving and had her truck keys taken by one of the men. Both plaintiffs accuse Buckner of siding with the landfill operators and failing to de-escalate the confrontation, despite acting under color of law as a deputy.

The suit brings multiple claims, including violations of the Fourth Amendment, civil conspiracy, assault, battery, false imprisonment and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. It also accuses Haywood County of maintaining policies that allowed deputies to hold second jobs that created conflicts of interest.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, legal fees and court oversight of the sheriff’s office. They are represented by Matheson & Associates, PLLC.

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