DOVER, Del. (AP) — A package reshipping company targeted in a theft scheme by a former Delaware State Police trooper has filed a lawsuit against him and the police agency.
TotalTransLogistics LLC said in a complaint filed this week in Superior Court that it is seeking to recover damages for harm caused by Jamal Merrell while he was employed as a trooper. The company also said the state police agency was liable because of “wanton and grossly negligent failure to supervise Merrell.”
Merrell was sentenced in January to six months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of deprivation of rights under color of law. The offense involved Merrell using his law enforcement position to deprive someone else of a right or privilege.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons website indicates Merrell, 33, was released from custody on June 16.
According to federal court documents, Merrell stole various electronic items while on duty from TotalTransLogistics, an international reshipping company in New Castle, under the ruse of conducting an a criminal investigation. Merrell then sold the stolen items, sometimes while in uniform and from his DSP patrol vehicle, according to prosecutors.
TotalTransLogisitics, or TTL, said it was “greatly damaged” by Merrell’s actions, including the theft and resale of various electronic goods. The company is suing him for trespass, conversion of goods in its possession, interference in contractual relations with customers, and interference with existing and future business opportunities. It accuses DSP of wanton or gross negligence in failing to supervise Merrell.
Representatives of the Delaware State Police and the attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A phone number for Merrell could not be found.
Among other things, the company alleges that DSP had the ability to track Merrell’s patrol vehicle through GPS and computer-aided dispatch capabilities, but apparently failed to question why his vehicle was frequently at TTL when there was no investigative reason for him to be there.
“Upon information and belief, to the extent that Merrell did not submit reports of his visits to TTL and did not log in evidence collected, the DSP was on notice that something was seriously wrong with DSP’s supervision of Merrell,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also asserts that Merrell “brazenly sold” stolen items from his patrol car while in uniform.
“Merrell’s actions were so open and notorious that the DSP knew or should have known that Merrell was engaged in criminal activities,” according to the complaint, which also claims that personnel and internal affairs records likely contain information revealing his problematic behavior.
According to federal court records, law enforcement officials began an investigation in 2021 after a TTL official and his attorney went to the FBI to report suspicious incidents over several months. TTL specializes in shipping packages to the country of Georgia. According to an FBI affidavit, the businessman lives in Georgia but traveled to the U.S. after learning of the incidents.
FBI and state police investigators interviewed Merrell at his home in July 2021 and seized an iPhone, fearing that he would delete evidence from it after he refused to consent to a search.
According to the lawsuit, the thefts began after Merrell, in June 2020, legitimately followed up on a complaint that a package was at TTL as part of a potential online scam. According to the lawsuit, Merrell closed his investigation and did not forward it to his supervisors for follow-up.
“Thereafter, Merrell began returning to TTL in uniform and in his police vehicle on a regular basis,” the complaint states.
According to federal court records, employees reported that Merrell had visited the company at least 10 times beginning in February 2021, when he told employees he was conducting an investigation and would need to inspect packages at the warehouse. He also insisted that he be left alone when conducting the inspections, according to the affidavit.
Employees reported that Merrell could be seen on surveillance footage removing items from large containers, putting them in a cart, then moving the cart to an area outside video surveillance coverage and near an exterior door.
A company official reported that he had received more than $20,000 in claims from customers for items missing from shipments or never delivered.
After learning he might be the subject of an investigation, Merrell delivered several items to a police facility in Newark, leaving them at the sally port instead of in the evidence locker. He also left an inventory of items he had seized, including laptop computers, cellphones and other items in their original packaging, according to investigators.
Asked whether he had sold any items he took, Merrell told investigators that a company employee told him that one section of the warehouse had been designated for “trash.” Merrell told investigators he had taken about 100 iPhones from that area and sold them through Facebook.
