John Jefferson
Background: Dean Dietsch (KTRK). Inset: Dietsch during his December 2023 arrest by Harris County (Tex.) Sheriff’s Office deputies (Harris County Sheriff’s Office via KTRK).
A man in Texas spent days in jail and thousands of dollars to fight an arrest that he says should never have happened in the first place.
On Dec. 17, 2023, deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office came to the home of Dean Dietsch, who says he was inside sleeping at the time. After hearing a ruckus outside, he said he thought he was being robbed.
“They had their guns out and are hiding behind a tree,” he told Houston ABC affiliate KTRK. “I’m like, ‘Oh, my God. They want to come get me for some reason.’”
Dietsch said that at that point, he armed himself for protection.
“I get my squirrel rifle and my single-shot shotgun,” Dietsch said. “I come out with a shotgun raised, trying to defend my home.”
Bodycam video shows deputies then shouting at Dietsch to put down his firearms and get down on the ground. He told the station that he didn’t understand what was happening.
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According to court records, Dietsch was arrested because he allegedly “unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly threaten with imminent bodily injury” one of the deputies who had come to his house to arrest him.
“My mind was obviously, ‘They had the wrong address,’ because I’m just sleeping, waiting to go to IHOP in the morning,” he said. “I didn’t get to go to IHOP. I got to go to jail for a couple of days.”
Dietsch reportedly believes that the deputies, who were called to his house for an alleged disturbance, were given the wrong address, and were instead meant to go to a nearby house where neighbors had thrown a large party.
Nevertheless, Dietsch says he was taken to lockup for two days and has spent more than $30,000 to fight the charges, which were ultimately dropped. A court order dismissing the charges was filed in July.
Court records show that Dean Dietsch has filed an expungement claim against the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. A hearing in that case has been set for Oct. 29.
“The case has been dismissed after prosecutor realized how wrong the officer was on not just the location of where the disturbance he was supposed to be reporting to, but also about my client intentionally pointing a gun at an officer after he announced he was an officer,” Dietch’s attorney Chris Denuna told Law&Crime in an email Wednesday. “He then proceeded to lie to the DA on the phone (on his body cam) about it so the DA would accept charges for assault on a peace officer. Prosecutors evaluated the case and ultimately did the right thing and dismissed it.”
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s request for comment.
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