The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider paying $3 million to settle a federal lawsuit filed by two people whose arrests outside a Lancaster grocery store led to a sheriff’s deputy’s felony conviction that was later reduced to a misdemeanor in what became a politically charged case.
The board will consider approving the settlement for Jacy Houseton and Damon Barnes, whose lawsuit claimed excessive force, false arrest and other allegations. Their arrests on June 24, 2023, at a Lancaster WinCo Foods store ultimately led to the indictment of county Sheriff’s Deputy Trevor Kirk, who was later convicted of a felony for assaulting and pepper-spraying Houseton.
According to the original indictment, deputies had responded to a possible robbery at the store. According to court papers, Kirk and a fellow deputy arrived at the scene, handcuffed a man matching the suspect’s description and detained him, while a woman fitting the description of the second suspect recorded the deputies with her phone.
The indictment stated that Kirk then approached the woman — Houseton — and attempted to grab her phone without issuing any commands. The woman turned away, prompting Kirk to grab her arm, hook his left hand behind her neck and forcefully throw her to the ground, prosecutors said.
While on the ground, Kirk yelled at Houseton to “get on the ground,” and she told him the video had already been posted on YouTube, according to the indictment.
Federal prosecutors initially said Kirk then placed his knee on the woman’s shoulder, and when she yelled for him to stop and used an expletive, he pulled his right arm back with a clenched fist and threatened to punch her in the face.
The indictment says Kirk used his department radio to call in a misleading report that he was in a fight.
Court papers further state that shortly thereafter, without giving any additional commands to Houseton, Kirk sprayed her twice in the face with pepper spray. The woman received medical attention for the spray and injuries received from being thrown to the ground, evidence shows.
The jury heard that Kirk then drafted and submitted a misleading report to the sheriff’s department in which he portrayed Houseton as a threat to his physical safety, claiming that the woman assaulted him, attempted to hit him and took a “fighting” stance.
Kirk was convicted in 2025 of one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law.
The conviction could have sent him to prison for as long as 10 years. But in May 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed an unusual post-conviction plea and sentencing agreement in which Kirk would plead guilty to a misdemeanor and admit under oath that he “used unnecessary force.”
The plea deal — offered by U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who had just been appointed to the role by President Donald Trump — would have overturned the jury’s felony verdict and reduced Kirk’s possible prison exposure to just one year.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson rejected the proposed plea bargain, but did allow prosecutors to dismiss allegations in the case and reduce Kirk’s conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor. Wilson then sentenced Kirk to four months in prison.
The handling of the Kirk case prompted four federal prosecutors to withdraw from the case, and there were reports that at least three prosecutors resigned from the office.
Houseton’s attorney, Caree Harper, called the legal maneuvering “a travesty of justice.”
But Kirk also had his supporters. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Professional Association insisted the initial prosecution of Kirk was “wrongful and politically charged” and his actions, as seen on body-worn camera video, were “lawful, restrained, and aligned with training.”
Kirk’s attorney, Tom Yu, described his client as a “hero, not a criminal.”
Los Angeles County prosecutors announced in August of 2023 that neither Barnes nor Houseton would be charged with a crime stemming from their arrests.
In a report to the Board of Supervisors recommending the $3 million lawsuit settlement, county attorneys cited “the risks and uncertainties of litigation,” noting that the settlement “will avoid further litigation costs.” The report notes that the county has already paid more than $200,000 in attorneys’ fees stemming from the case.