Local jeweler Manuel Marcial said Wednesday that he still plans to sue former State Attorney Kirk Zuelch and State Investigator Paul Meyers for wrongful prosecution. Last August, a Key West jury required only 35 minutes to acquit Marcial of grand theft charges. In fact, Judge Mark Jones had thrown out all of the charges except one before the case even went to the jury.
Marcial was arrested back in May of 1999 after one of his customers complained to Zuelch's office that Marcial would not give a full refund on a five-year-old ring that had been damaged by the customer.
Marcial and his family have owned and operated Emeralds International on Duval Street for 20 years.
During the trial, one of Marcial's expert witnesses suggested that it may have been the customer who was attempting to defraud Marcial, not the other way around. Courtroom observers reported that Zuelch's case against Marcial was so bad that the state's star witness testified for the defense.
"As a result of the malicious prosecution of Mr. Marcial by Zuelch and Meyers, he has suffered extreme financial and emotional harm," said /gainesville Attorney Gloria Fletcher, who is representing Marcial.
State law requires that state employees being sued be given six months' notice. Last Aug. 30, Attorney Fletcher sent certified letters to both Zuelch and Meyers notifying them that they would be sued. The six months was up at the end of February. Zuelch and Meyers are being sued both in their official state capacities and individually.
Fletcher would not talk about the specifics of the dollar damages she will be demanding, but a source close to the case said it is likely that the total will be in the "millions."
"We have a meeting with the attorneys next month to discuss the lawsuit," Marcial said. "We are definitely going forward."
Last November, Zuelch, after 20 years as State Attorney here, was defeated at the polls. Meyers is still working for new State Attorney Mark Kohl.