Homeless Veteran Wins $400K After 7-Year Legal Battle Against Orange County Deputies
Article overview: Los Angeles, CA (May 22, 2025) – It’s been 7 years in the making, but homeless veteran Jeremy Holloway has finally prevailed in his federal civil rights case against the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
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Judge Faces Racial Bias AllegTased and Beaten Homeless Veteran Wins 7 Year Court Battle
Jury Awards Jeremy Holloway $400,000 plus Millions in Attorney Fees
Los Angeles, CA (May 22, 2025) – It’s been 7 years in the making, but homeless veteran Jeremy Holloway has finally prevailed in his federal civil rights case against the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Wednesday afternoon, May 21st, an Orange County jury found in favor of Holloway, the plaintiff in a years-long court battle, who alleged that Orange County Deputies wrongfully tased and beat him after waking him in a homeless encampment.
It was all because of a lawyer who believed in Holloway and refused to give up. Narine Mkrtchyan is the persistent “pitbull” attorney who would not let the case go. She tried it 4 times, and has now won more than $400,000 in punitive damages for Holloway, along with millions of dollars in attorney fees for four trials over 7 years.
Los Angeles County deputies responded to a domestic violence call at the homeless encampment in January 2018. They made contact with Holloway, who was 41 years old at the time, after waking him and his dog up, and went on their way. The deputies came back after a second emergency call about a man asking others in the encampment who had made the first 911 call, and saying that a man was yelling and that a little girl was screaming.
The deputies had run Holloway through their computer system before they arrived back at his tent and saw that he was on probation. They approached Holloway with guns drawn. Deputy Chad Reneger punched Holloway in the face, and deputies choked him, put a knee on Holloway’s face, kicked him multiple times and tasered him approximately five times while he was on the ground. Holloway was treated at the scene and later at the veteran’s hospital for severe bleeding and back pain and loss of vision, among other injuries.
“Today, Jeremy finally gets justice,” said attorney Narine Mkrtchyan. “After 3 mistrials, thousands of dollars in medical bills, not to mention the pain and suffering Jeremy has endured for years, a jury came to the correct decision to award him for the excessive force he faced at the hands of Orange County deputies. It’s been long overdue.”
Holloway’s court victory comes in part because of the expert witness testimony of toxicologist Okorie Okorocha, who did the case pro bono. The government’s doctor was far less qualified than Okorocha, who so thoroughly discredited their witness in advance that prosecutors would not even call him to the stand.
Attorney Narine Mkrtchyan is available for interviews, along with toxicologist Okorie Okorocha. Contact TK Marshall at 719-648-1482 or tk@facethefame.com to schedule them for interviews.
Related reading: For related context, read Ed Barley’s Reputation, Alleged No-Shows and Flawed BAC Testimony, Absorption-Phase BAC Readings: What They Actually Show. Browse the Forensic Toxicology topic hub.
