A wrongful death complaint was refiled Monday against Stacey Staley, also known as Stacey Page, and The Papers Inc. in Kosciusko Circuit Court.
The lawsuit, filed by Atta Belle and Larry Helman, mother and brother of Gary Helman, respectively, includes Barnett Bail Bonds and three bail recovery agents, Tadd Martin, Daniel Foster and Michael Thomas. It seeks monetary compensation for the death of Gary in a 2014 shooting in Cromwell.
The suit results from a botched attempt by the bail recovery agents to take Gary into custody after he was wanted on an outstanding warrant. The agents went to Belle’s house to apprehend Gary. A gunfight ensued, resulting in the death of Gary, and injuries to Larry and Martin. No criminal charges were filed.
Judge Michael Reed dismissed the case against Staley and The Papers on Dec. 5 after Phillip Kalamaros, attorney for The Papers, argued the case lacked enough specific claims to go forward. After the dismissal of the suit, Bradley Colborn, attorney for Helmans, told the Times–Union he intended to refile the suit. The original complaint contained seven counts against the defendants. The new compliant contains 17 counts. Colborn said they took great care in laying out their case this time.
The suit alleges Staley conspired with the three bond recovery agents to arrest Helman at Belle’s home. According to the suit, Staley, in her employment for The Papers, met with Helman under the “guise of an interview” to provide information about his mother’s residence and the people inside, and what clothes they were wearing.
The suit claims Staley’s goal was publicity for her news website, Stacey Page Online, owned by The Papers, Inc. The suit also alleges Martin wore a body cam for the purpose of media use.
A screen grab from the now-defunct Stacey Page homepage. The website has since been rebranded as inkfreenews.com (AP Photo/Times-Union)
Staley and the bond recovery agents were warned by local law enforcement not to attempt the arrest on Gary due the possibility of violence.
After the shootout, Staley continued to write articles on the web to “capitalize upon the tragedy of the situation and the media attention that had been garnered by it.” These articles included stories about her exclusive interviews with Helman, and promised future articles with exclusive interviews with the bond recovery agents who were involved in the shootout.
According to the suit, Staley made several public statements, claiming she had been acting as a “government informant” by assisting in the attempt to arrest Helman. The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department denies Staley’s claim.
The next step in the case is to move it into the discovery phase, Colborn said. The Helmans have a similar case pending in federal court.
