A former Roanoke jail inmate's civil rights lawsuit against sheriff's deputies will be allowed to go forward, a federal judge ruled last week.

DaVon Anthony Bell has accused deputies of breaking his elbow. Bell's lawyer, John Fishwick of Roanoke, said that he and his client look forward to moving into the next phase of the lawsuit.

Roanoke Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Patricia Johnson said there would be no comment on an ongoing lawsuit.

Bell was jailed in September 2008 on a larceny charge. He said that while he was in custody, deputies beat him and forced his arms back in a manner that broke his left elbow. He did not receive medical care until he was released two days later, and eventually had surgery that included inserting a screw through his wrist to a bone graft to his elbow.

In June, he filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriff's office, Sheriff Octavia Johnson, Deputy Brandon Young and other, unnamed officers, asking for $6 million from each defendant.

U.S. District Court Judge Glen Conrad considered a defense motion to dismiss the case and ruled that officers could not be sued for actions taken in the course of their duties.

But those parts of the lawsuit that described actions that went beyond official duties, such as the cruel behavior Bell described, would stand, Conrad ruled.

The case now moves farther into discovery, Fishwick said, with depositions likely to be held with parties connected to the case. A May 4 trial date has been set.

-- Mike Gangloff