Pierce County settles domestic violence shooting death lawsuit for $3 million
Pierce County has settled a lawsuit for $3 million that accused sheriff’s deputies of improperly handling a domestic violence situation that ended with a man killing his wife in 2015.
Regina Annas, 33, was fatally shot by her husband April 17, 2015. He also shot and injured her friend, then killed himself at the Annas’ home in Prairie Ridge.
The injured friend, Regina Annas’ estate and her son sued Pierce County last year. They alleged sheriff’s deputies put a handgun in the possession of 40-year-old David Annas after they served him with a protection order his wife had gotten and that hours later he used that gun on his wife, her friend and himself.
“Before leaving, David told the deputies he was worried Regina would sell his gun and asked if he could get it,” the lawsuit said. “The deputies located David’s loaded ‘1911 handgun with pearl style grips.’ Despite the fact that David was not allowed to possess a firearm, and despite the fact that David was a known, violent individual who had threatened to murder his wife Regina — the deputies inexplicably placed the handgun and loaded magazine in David Annas’ possession upon his request.”
Steve Fogg, one of the attorneys representing Pierce County in the case, said in a statement: “This lawsuit followed a tragic incident where a Pierce County resident decided to shoot and kill his wife, hitting a bystander in the process, before turning the gun on himself. The plaintiffs alleged that Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputies did not do enough to prevent this from happening. The County strongly denied these allegations.”
Fogg went on to say: “The trial court judge made a pretrial ruling, finding that the Deputies did not have the lawful authority to seize the husband’s handgun when serving him with an ex parte civil order. The decision to settle the case was the result of many factors, including the inherent risks associated with trial. The County hopes that the settlement and end to the lawsuit bring a measure of finality and closure to the plaintiffs and their families.”
Jack Connelly, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, said the county settled with the friend, Rachel Holland, for $1.25 million. It settled with Annas’ estate and her son, Dylan Kinney, for $1.75 million. The court dismissed the case earlier this month as a result of the agreement.
“They gave a gun and ammunition to somebody who was a known domestic violence perpetrator, and then he used it to come back and kill his wife and to shoot her friend,” Connelly said. “... Hopefully it was something that people learned from and it never happens again.”
Meaghan Driscoll, another attorney who represented the plaintiffs, said: “Firearms in domestic violence situations are very dangerous, and law enforcement has the ability to make the situation safer by putting the firearms in safe keeping, or at a minimum not providing a firearm that they don’t even know who it belongs to to a domestic violence perpetrator.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
