Family of property manager killed in Constable shooting can move forward with lawsuit against Pima County

The family of slain property manager Angela Fox Heath can move forward with a lawsuit against Pima County after the County entities named in a Notice of Claim the family filed a couple months ago failed to respond within a 60 day deadline.

The family named the County Supervisors, County Attorney, County Constables Office and the estate of fallen constable Deborah Martinez Garibay in their Notice of Claim.

The attorney for the Heath Fox family Carlo Mercaldo said they plan to move forward with a lawsuit. In the NOC they intended to seek $50 million.

Angela Fox Heath was the property manager for Lind Commons Apartments she was shot and killed in August alongside constable Deborah Martinez Garibay while they were serving an eviction notice.

Another innocent man Elijah Miranda was killed, the gunman took his own life.

According to the NOC, the Fox Heath family believes Martinez Garibay should have been fired by thee County Supervisors before the deadly shooting happened. They make several points as to why, such as her having more than 20 police interactions going back to 2001. She was usually the caller but they paint a picture of her being an instigator.

Martinez Garibay was also under investigation for fraud, a situation the News 4 Tucson Investigators broke last year. It was never resolved due to the shooting.

The N4T Investigators spoke to Garibay in May about the ethics probe.

“Even under all this stress and all this scrutiny, even under all the way I am being bullied I show up every day and give the landlords the best I can and the tenants the best I can,” she told us.

The family also points to a toxicology report, reviewed by News 4 Tucson, that showed Garibay had several illegal drugs in her system at the time of her death. They also highlight how she didn’t receive required training constables are supposed to receive.

They said Angela Fox Heath should not have been put in harms way and that Garibay should have known to call for Tucson Police backup given the gunman’s past threats and acts of violence.

Nobody from the County would comment on the threat of litigation, the County Attorney’s Office said they do not comment on active litigation.

The Fox Heath family would also not speak to us about the situation.

Mercaldo told us the lawsuit could be filed as early as this week.