Questa Verde Condos, Christiansted St. Croix. Photo Credit: V.I. CONSORTIUIM.
The woman who says she was unjustly detained at the Questa Verde gated community on St. Croix is now suing the two people she says were responsible.
Nia Sylvester filed an action for false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and defamation. She levied the charges against Terry Parker and Marsha Daniel.
The civil suit stems from a March 25 incident that went viral after footage of the aftermath was published on The Consortium. On that day, Ms. Sylvester says she drove to the townhouse complex to deliver event invitations to her sorority sister. She entered the Questa Verde gate and parked in the parking lot to await her friend's arrival. Unbeknownst to her, she had entered through a gate designated as exit-only, the lawsuit claims. She was also at the wrong location, as her friend did not reside at Questa Verde.
Mr. Parker was leaving the gated community at the time Ms. Sylvester drove in. He allegedly drove back into the parking lot, coming to a stop next to her vehicle, and began to “aggressively question” Ms. Sylvester as she sat in her vehicle, the lawsuit says. According to the civil complaint, “this hostile behavior caused Sylvester, who was 22 years old and alone at the time, to feel uncomfortable and threatened, especially since Parker had another adult individual in his vehicle.”
Ms. Sylvester decided to call her mother for help. While she waited, Mr. Parker went into “what appeared to be an office,” the lawsuit says, and emerged with Ms. Daniel, who the court filing alleges is an employee or contractor working on behalf of the Questa Verde Townhouses Association.
As Ms. Daniel approached, Ms. Sylvester rolled down her window and said that she felt threatened by Mr. Parker, whose questioning she reportedly described as “hostile and racist.”
Ms. Daniel responded that this was par for the course. “This is how we are with all residents,” she is alleged to have said.
Eventually Ms. Sylvester's mother, former Senator Alicia Barnes, arrived at the closed Questa Verde gate and so did Ms. Sylvester's friend. She handed off the invitations to her sorority sister and went back to her vehicle to leave the premises, only to discover she was locked in, according to the court filing. Mr. Parker and Ms. Daniel stood next to his jeep conversing, and he reportedly began taking photographs of Ms. Sylvester's car.
Befuddled, Ms. Sylvester says she pointed out that she was wearing attire branded with the government department in which she works, and carrying identification proving her government employment. The standoff reportedly continued with the two women outside the gate pleading for Ms. Daniel to open the gate and let Ms. Sylvester out. The Questa Verde employee allegedly responded “we are not letting you out because you don't belong here!”
Once she realized that Ms. Daniel “intended to punish her daughter for mistakenly entering Questa Verde Townhouses,” Ms. Barnes called the police. It was a resident who “noticed the obvious illegality of the conduct of Parker and Daniel,” and “quietly opened the gate to let Sylvester out,” says the court filing. That gate, although allegedly designated an exit, is “repeatedly left open to the public,” according to the lawsuit. “Visitors routinely drive through that gate to access the Questa Verde Townhouses’ property.”
Ms. Sylvester says she spent around 20 minutes falsely imprisoned on the property of Questa Verde Townhouses in front of her mother and sorority sister, by an employee of the townhouse association.
In an interview with the Consortium following the incident, Mr. Parker stated that he was new to the territory and "very concerned about safety" — a comment the lawsuit interprets as implying that he views Ms. Sylvester, and others who resemble her, as a threat. "Parker's comments to the media were racist, false, [and] defamatory,” the civil complaint argues.
Ms. Sylvester and Ms. Barnes are asking the court to award damages for emotional distress, lost wages, physical injury, and medical expenses. They are also asking to be awarded punitive damages, pre- and post-judgement interest, costs, and any other relief that may be deemed proper.
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