MOORE v. PHILLIPS et al

OCR transcription for search; preserved printed pages are authoritative

Case 3:26-cv-02936-TKW-HTC
Document 8 Filed 04/17/26 Page 1 of 11
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA PENSACOLA DIVISION
JYWANZA IGWE MOORE,
Plaintiff,
V. Case No. 3:26cv2936-TKW-HTC
OFFICER MATTHEW D. PHILLIPS & CITY OF CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA,
Defendants.
/
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
Plaintiff Jywanza Igwe Moore, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, initiated this action on March 25, 2026, by filing a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 arising out of an arrest. Doc. 1. On April 3, after screening the complaint, the undersigned issued an Order finding the complaint failed to state a claim but giving Moore an opportunity to amend his complaint in accordance with the Order. Doc. 6. The April 3 Order informed Moore that his failure to comply with any part of the Order could result in a recommendation that this case be dismissed. Doc. 6 at 13. Moore filed an amended complaint on April 9. Doc. 7. Upon review, the amended complaint continues to suffer from the same deficiencies - namely, it contains purely conclusory allegations without supporting facts. Therefore, the amended complaint should be DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE for failure to state a claim.
AUTHENTICATED U.S. GOVERNMENT INFORMATION GPO

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Case No. 3:26cv2936-TKW-HTC
I. 	BACKGROUND
In Moore’s first amended complaint, he sues the same two defendants as he
did in his initial complaint: (1) Officer Matthew D. Phillips, in his individual and
official capacity; and (2) the City of Crestview. The following relevant allegations
are taken from the first amended complaint and accepted as true for purposes of this
report:1
On November 16, 2025, Moore was operating a motor vehicle in Crestview,
Florida. Defendant Phillips initiated a traffic stop, based on recognizing Moore from
a prior encounter and a belief the vehicle was registered to someone without a
license. However, Moore had not committed a traffic violation or criminal offense.
“The stop was conducted without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.”
Phillips arrested Moore and charged him with driving with a suspended
license. 	Moore was detained for 24 hours. 	The charge was later dismissed.
Phillips’s “report contained false and misleading statements regarding the reason for
the stop and the events that occurred.”
1 It appears Moore submitted two documents titled “amended complaint,” both of which are
docketed as a single document. Doc. 7 & Doc. 7-1. The first document is on this Court’s required
forms and is signed by Moore. Thus, the Court will treat that as the operative amended complaint.
Doc. 7 at 1-10. The second document is not on the Court’s required forms and is not signed by
Moore. 	Doc. 7-1. 	While the facts set forth above come from the first document, as discussed
herein, even if the Court were to consider the additional allegations from the second document,
the Court would nonetheless find it fails to state a claim. Moreover, the fact that Moore submitted
two “amended” complaints – neither of which is sufficient to state a claim – shows that Moore will
be unable to state a claim even if given an additional opportunity to do so.
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Phillips’s actions were “carried out pursuant to policies, customs, or practices
of the City of Crestview, or due to a failure to properly train and supervise its
officers.”
Based on the above allegations, Moore claims he suffered emotional distress,
“loss of freedom,” and other damages. He sues Phillips for violating the Fourteenth
Amendment in conducting an unlawful traffic stop, for false arrest, and for
fabrication of evidence. He sues the City for “municipal liability.” As relief, Moore
seeks $250,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages.
II. 	DISCUSSION
In the Court’s amend order (Doc. 6), the undersigned told Moore the initial
complaint was an improper shotgun pleading which violated Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 8 because it was replete with conclusory and vague facts. 	Despite an
opportunity to amend, Moore’s amended complaint is also replete with conclusory
and vague facts. For example, Moore sues the City for “municipal liability” without
identifying a single policy, procedure, custom or practice that contributed to a
violation of his constitutional rights. As the Court previously instructed Moore, “[t]o
prove a Monell claim,2 a plaintiff must show: (1) that his constitutional rights were
violated; (2) that the municipality had a custom or policy that constituted deliberate
indifference to that constitutional right; and (3) that the policy or custom caused the
2 See Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978).
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Case No. 3:26cv2936-TKW-HTC
violation.” Andre v. Clayton Cnty., Georgia, 148 F.4th 1282, 1300 (11th Cir. 2025).
The amended complaint does not set forth any facts to support any of those elements.
Similarly, despite alleging that Phillips violated the Fourteenth Amendment
by conducting a traffic stop on Moore, Moore admits that Phillips did so based on
his prior knowledge of Moore and his “belief” that the vehicle Phillips saw Moore
driving was registered to an unlicensed driver. 	As this Court previously advised
Moore, “reasonable suspicion is all that is required” to justify a traffic stop. 	See
Baxter v. Roberts, 54 F.4th 1241, 1256 n.9, 1265 (11th Cir. 2022). And that is what
Phillips had, even by Moore’s own allegations. 	Moreover, as the Court also
previously told Moore, the arrest report (attached hereto)3 confirms Phillips had
reasonable suspicion.4 Thus, Moore continues to fail to state a constitutional claim
based on the traffic stop.
Moore’s false arrest claim is also based solely on conclusory allegations.
Moore states that Phillips’s report contained false and misleading statements but he
does not identify what those misstatements are, even though the undersigned
attached a copy of the report to the prior amend order (Doc. 6). In the unsigned and
3 The undersigned attached a copy of the arrest report and relied upon it in the amend order (Doc.
6) because it is central to Moore’s claim.
4 In the unsigned second document (Doc. 7-1) Moore again alleges that Phillips “claimed Plaintiff
did not possess a driver’s license based on database information.” This allegation also supports a
finding of reasonable suspicion and is consistent with the probable cause affidavit, in which
Phillips states he queried NCIC/FCIC prior to making the stop and learned the registered owner of
the vehicle only had an identification card, and then confirmed the identity of the owner was
Moore, who was driving the vehicle.
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deficient second version of the amended complaint (Doc. 7-1), Moore identifies the
false information as (1) claiming Moore had a prior encounter where he switched
seats to avoid law enforcement; (2) claiming Moore had multiple prior stops in the
vehicle, despite the vehicle being purchased less than 30 days prior,5 and (3)
claiming Moore had been previously warned to correct his license. Doc. 7-1 at 2.
As the Court previously told Moore, although intentional or reckless material
misstatements or omissions in a warrant affidavit can violate the Fourth Amendment,
Kelly v. Curtis, 21 F.3d 1544, 1555 (11th Cir. 1994), to do so those misstatements
must be material to the probable cause determination. See Franks v. Delaware, 438
U.S. 154, 156 (1978). Here, even putting those alleged false statements aside, there
was probable cause to arrest Moore. See Paez v. Mulvey, 915 F.3d 1276, 1287 (11th
Cir. 2019) (“[W]hether a misstatement or omission in a warrant affidavit constitutes
a Fourth Amendment violation,” depends on “whether probable cause would be
negated if the offending statement was removed or the omitted information
included”). 	Namely, Phillips queried NCIC, which showed that Moore’s Georgia
driver’s license had expired in 2020, and he had only a Florida identification card.
Thus, none of the allegations in the amended complaint or the unsigned second
document are sufficient to support a claim for false arrest.
5 Phillips does not state in the report that Moore was pulled over in the same vehicle on the other
occasions, simply that he was stopped 2 prior times.
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III. 	CONCLUSION
After Moore filed his initial complaint, the Court issued a detailed 13-page
order outlining the deficiencies with the complaint and the elements for the claims
Moore sought to assert. Doc. 6. In the signed amended complaint, Moore fixed one
issue identified by the Court—improper joinder—by omitting a claim for deliberate
indifference to a medical need. Moore, however, did not cure his Rule 8 violations
because he failed to add any factual allegations. 	Thus, the amended complaint
continues to fail to state a claim against Phillips or the City. And to the extent Moore
wants the Court to consider the second document attached to the amended
complaint—the 	improper 	and 	unsigned 	amended 	complaint 	(Doc. 	7-1)—that
complaint does not add any new factual allegations that would nudge the claims
across the motion to dismiss threshold, and it further continues to disregard this
Court’s prior order by including claims related to deliberate indifference to a medical
need, jail conditions, and improper release documentation, which cannot be brought
in this action under Rule 20.
Because Moore has already had one (and arguably two) opportunities to
amend, and has shown he is unable to do so, this action should be dismissed and no
additional amendments allowed. 	See Tanner v. Neal, 232 F. App’x 924, 924 (11th
Cir. 2007) (affirming sua sponte dismissal of complaint without prejudice when
plaintiff “failed to follow the district court’s instructions on how to amend her
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complaint in order to comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 8”); Bell v. Fla. Highway Patrol,
476 F. App’x 856, 857 (11th Cir. 2012) (affirming dismissal of complaint when “the
district court provided [plaintiff] with instructions in its order dismissing her second
amended complaint” but her “third amended complaint failed to comply with these
detailed instructions regarding how to plead claims and which claims to present”);
Skillern v. Ga. Dep’t of Corr. Comm’r, 379 F. App’x 859, 860 (11th Cir. 2010)
(noting the “district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing [pro se
prisoner’s] 	case 	without 	prejudice 	because 	[he] 	failed 	to 	comply 	with 	the
magistrate’s order to comply with Rule 20(a) when he did not show that the claims
against the defendants arose out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of
transactions or occurrences”).
Accordingly, it is RECOMMENDED that:
1. 	Moore’s amended complaint (Doc. 7) be DISMISSED WITHOUT
PREJUDICE for failure to state a claim.
2. 	The clerk close the case.
At Pensacola, Florida, this 17 th day of April, 2026.
/s/ Hope Thai Cannon
HOPE THAI CANNON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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Case No. 3:26cv2936-TKW-HTC
NOTICE TO THE PARTIES
Objections to these proposed findings and recommendations must be filed within
fourteen (14) days of the date of the Report and Recommendation. Any different
deadline that may appear on the electronic docket is for the court’s internal use only
and does not control. An objecting party must serve a copy of its objections upon
all other parties. A party who fails to object to the magistrate judge’s findings or
recommendations contained in a report and recommendation waives the right to
challenge on appeal the district court’s order based on the unobjected-to factual and
legal conclusions. See 11th Cir. Rule 3-1.
Case 3:26-cv-02936-TKW-HTC Document 8 Filed 04/17/26 Page 8 of 11

Case 3:26-cv-02936-TKW-HTC
POLICE
ORIO
Arrest Report
CRESTVIEW PD
201 STILLWELL BLVD
CRESTVIEW, FL 32539
Document 8 Filed 04/17/26 Page 9 of 11 SCANNED 837 11/16 BY
DATE:
Report Date / Time
11/16/2025 10:24 PM
Report Number
CPDCHG04316M
Case Number/Cad Number
CPD25OFF003924 /
CPD25CAD038229
C
Reporting Officer Name
PHILLIPS, MATHEW D
Originating Agency ORI
FL0460100
Occur Date Time Range
11/16/2025 22:04:48 -
Jurisdiction
Clearance
Location of Occurrence
County
OKALOOSA
Location Type
PUBLIC PLACE
Location Description
INTERSECTION OF S FERDON BLVD / MIRAGE AVE
Street Number
Street
S FERDON BLVD
Apt/Lot/Bldg |City
CRESTVIEW
State
FL
Zip Code
32536
Suspect
First Name
JYWANZA
Middle Name
IGWE
Last Name
MOORE
Suffix
Race
BLACK
Sex MALE
Height 6'00"
Weight
250
Hair
BRO
Eyes
BRO
MNI #
CPD22MNI003996
SSN
Date of Birth 03/24/1978
|Age 47
ID Type E
Drivers License or other ID
M600429781040
State FL
OCA / Agency ID
PROVS BRAD E EMBRY CV18 NOV 18 2025 A9:40
Address
* RESIDENCE (LAST KNOWN) / 2624 SALTGRASS WAY , CRESTVIEW, FL 32536 /
Arrest
Arrest Date/Time
11/16/2025 10:16:10 PM PUBLIC PLACE
Arrest Location Type
Arrest Location Description
INTERSECTION OF S FERDON BLVD / MIRAGE AVE
Street Number |Street
S FERDON BLVD
Apt/Lot/Bldg|County
OKALOOSA
City
CRESTVIEW
State
FL
Zip Code
32536
Charge : STATE STATUTE
1 Counts -
Charge
322.03.1
Bond Amount
$0.00
No Bond
Charge Degree S
Charge Level
MISDEMEANOR
General Offense Code
MOVING TRAFFIC VIOL
Charge Description
OPERATE MOTOR VEHICLE W/O VALID LIC 1ST CONV
Probable Cause
On the 16th of November, 2025, at approximately 2204 hours, the above named Defendant, Jywanza Igwe Moore, committed the offense of Operating a Motor Vehicle without a Valid License in violation of FSS 322.03.1 when he was operating a 2024 Nissan Altima bearing Florida License Plate FHSY63 on a public roadway without having a valid driver's license.
These offenses are evidenced by the following:
On November 16th, 2025 at approximately 2204 hours, I observed a black 2024 Nissan Altima bearing Florida License Plate FHSY63 traveling northbound on S Ferdon Blvd approaching the intersection of
Arrest Report
Page 1 of 3
Place of Birth:
GA UNITED STATES
25 CT 2164-

Case 3:26-cv-02936-TKW-HTC
Document 8 Filed 04/17/26 Page 10 of 11
Report Date / Time 11/16/2025 10:24 PM
Report Number
CPDCHG04316M
Case Number/Cad Number CPD25OFF003924 / CPD25CAD038229
Reporting Officer Name
PHILLIPS, MATHEW D
Originating Agency ORI FL0460100
Occur Date Time Range 11/16/2025 22:04:48 -
Jurisdiction
Clearance
Interstate 10. I conducted an NCIC/FCIC query of the vehicle, which showed the registered owner, the Defendant, only possessed an Identification Card out of the state of Florida. I then observed that the Crestview Police Department had previous encounters with the vehicle and Defendant, in which he was informed he did not possess a valid Driver's License. I drove past the vehicle, and was able to identify the operator of the vehicle as the Defendant as he matched the photo on his Florida Identification Card. Due to observing the Defendant operating a motor vehicle, and his NCIC/FCIC return showing he did not possess a valid Driver's License, I conducted an investigative Traffic Stop on the vehicle. The final location of the stop was at the Mobil Gas Station located at 3200 S Ferdon Blvd.
I then made contact with the driver, who I was able to identify as the Defendant through his identification card. I requested the Defendant's Driver's License, to which he provided me with a Florida Identification Card. When I informed him that was not a driver's license, the Defendant then gave me a Georgia Driver's License. The Defendant advised me he did not know he did not have a driver's license, and stated that he has one out of Georgia.
An NCIC/FCIC query of the Defendant's Georgia Driver's License showed it expired in 2020. Furthermore, a query of his information out of Florida showed he only possessed an Identification Card. A query on DAVID showed he only possessed an Identification Card, and that his Driver's License was terminated on December 15th, 2020.
It should be noted prior to this offense, the Defendant had been stopped 2 previous times. The Defendant was stopped by myself on July 1st, 2024, in which he was informed of his driver's license status. The Defendant was issued Written Warning WW-003695 during this stop. The Defendant was also stopped by a different Crestiview PD Officer on March 15th, 2023, in which the Defendant and the passenger in the vehicle swapped seats.
The Defendant was issued administrative Uniform Traffic Citation AKKBAIE for this offense.
This offense occurred within the city limits of Crestview, Florida, where I am a sworn Law Enforcement Officer.
Jail Booking Facility
Booking Date/Time 11/16/2025 10:35 PM
Booking County OKALOOSA
Booking Facility
OKALOOSA COUNTY JAIL
Booking Facility Phone
(850) 689-5690
Booking Facility Location
1200 EAST JAMES LEE BLVD (HWY 90) CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA 32539-3114
Booking Number
2025005820
Booking Comments
Court
Court County OKALOOSA
Court Location
101 EAST JAMES LEE BLVD. CRESTVIEW, FLORIDA 32536
Court
Court Phone
Court Appereance Date / Time
Court Fine
Arrest Report
Page 2 of 3

Case 3:26-cv-02936-TKW-HTC
Document 8 Filed 04/17/26 Page 11 of 11
Report Date / Time
11/16/2025 10:24 PM
Report Number
CPDCHG04316M
Case Number/Cad Number
CPD25OFF003924 /
CPD25CAD038229
Reporting Officer Name
PHILLIPS, MATHEW D
Originating Agency ORI
FL0460100
Occur Date Time Range
11/16/2025 22:04:48 -
Jurisdiction
Clearance
OKALOOSA COUNTY COURT
(850) 689-5800
12/04/2025
1:30 PM
Comments
Officer Name Rank / ID #
Involvement On Report / Reporting Role
Officer Agency Org/Unit
BAIER, BEAU A.
SGT
BAB
APPROVING SUPERVISOR
CRESTVIEW PD PATROL\ALPHA
PHILLIPS, MATHEW D
OFC
MDP
REPORTING OFFICER
CRESTVIEW PD
PATROLICHARLIE
The undersigned certifies and swears that he/she has just and reasonable grounds to believe that the above named Defendant, committed violation(s), of law, on the below date(s) and time(s), as listed in the probable cause associated with this report:
Reporting Officer
Officer Name
Office Rank
Officer ID No MDP
Sworn and subscribed before me, the undersigned authority This the 16 day of November, 2025
DEPUTY OF THE COURT, NOTARY OR LAW ENFORCEMENT
R. I
No Bill / Petition
Issue Warrant
Prosecution Approved
Signature of Assistant State Attorney Date
Arrest Report
Page 3 of 3
PHILLIPS, MATHEW D OFC
Officer Agency CRESTVIEW PD
Officer Signature