Ex-Tahoe resident files suit against Calif., Idaho
By Keith Kinnair, Daily Bee
SANDPOINT, Idaho — A Sandpoint developer is suing the states of Idaho and California, and various public and private individuals for alleged constitutional rights violations.
Daniel Jay Tonnemacher is seeking up to $2 million in damages, according to a lawsuit filed in Idaho’s U.S. District Court on Friday.
Public records here and in California paint starkly opposing portraits of Tonnemacher. One image portrays Tonnemacher as a disgraced developer with a criminal record, while the other portrays him as victim of government persecution and corruption.
Tonnemacher, 63, said in the suit that he was falsely accused of an unspecified felony offense in El Dorado County about a decade ago and was unlawfully coerced into entering a plea of guilt.
He lived on the streets of South Lake Tahoe and Southern California when he wasn’t incarcerated with unreasonably high bail, the suit said.