Jerome County Responds to Accusations it Fired Injured National Guardsman

JEROME, Idaho (AP) — Jerome County officials are asking a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit accusing the county of intentionally refusing to rehire a member of the Idaho Army National Guard. Last month, U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson sued the county on behalf of Mervin Jones, who suffered a knee injury while deployed in Iraq in 2004 then aggravated the injury four years later during Army training exercises.

Jones began working for the sheriff in the jail in 2002, and the civil lawsuit accuses sheriff administrators of firing Jones while he was recuperating after reinjuring the knee. But The Times-News reports that lawyers for the county deny the allegations. In a response filed last week, lawyers claim the county never told Jones he could only return to work with no physical limitations.