VIRGINIA BEACH — A man who claimed Virginia Beach police officers unjustifiably ransacked his home during a failed search for drugs and weapons has agreed to drop the federal lawsuit he filed against them earlier this year.
In a stipulation of dismissal signed last month by lawyers for William Jennings and Virginia Beach police, the two sides agreed the complaint should be dismissed with prejudice, meaning that Jennings can’t re-file it later.
The court document didn’t offer any explanation for the move. Jennings’ lawyer, Seth Caroll, didn’t respond to a message requesting more information, and a Virginia Beach Police spokesman declined to comment.
Jennings was 79 and living in a waterfront home in the affluent Birdneck Point community that he’d owned for decades when police executed a search warrant there in September 2024. Dozens of officers arrived in armored vehicles, boats and police cruisers, the complaint said, and caused significant damage to the house and Jennings’ belongings while looking for drugs, weapons, money and drug paraphernalia.
Jennings was handcuffed and kept in a police cruiser while officers conducted the search. He was released hours later. No illegal items were found and no charges were ever filed, according to the lawsuit.
Jennings filed his complaint in March in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, in which he sought at least $500,000 in damages. Listed as defendants were Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate, the officer who got the warrant, and other unnamed officers who took part.
According to a search warrant affidavit filed three days before the warrant was executed, recorded phone calls between an inmate in the city jail and the inmate’s wife led police to Jennings’ home. Using common slang terms, the couple talked about buying and selling methamphetamine and the wife having a gun, the warrant request said.
The officer who requested the warrant said he knew the inmate lived at the Penguin Circle address where Jennings’ home is located through a search of DMV records and previous encounters. The warrant also said the man’s wife was living there, and that he planned to return after his release. Jennings, who has owned the property since 1979, is never mentioned.
A relative of Jennings told The Pilot the inmate had done odd jobs for Jennings over the years, and that Jennings had allowed him and his wife to stay in a guest house on his property. The relative said Jennings knew the man had been in and out of jail, but was just trying to help the couple get back on their feet. She also said the inmate’s wife was in the guest house when police arrived.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
