ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., July 30 (UPI) -- A Florida man serving a prison sentence for stealing a bicycle from a car is suing three men he accuses of perpetrating a rough citizen's arrest.

Michael Dupree, who is serving a 12-year sentence for cocaine possession and burglary convictions, claims the three men who caught him trying to sell the stolen bike a short time after the Oct. 11, 2007, burglary in St. Petersburg, Fla., assaulted him before police arrived, the St. Petersburg Times reported Friday.

Dupree's lawsuit is seeking $500,000 plus punitive damages.

Anthony McKoy, one of the men named in the lawsuit, dismissed it as "laughable."

"It's a waste of taxpayer money," said McKoy, who owned the car the bicycle was stolen from.

McKoy told the newspaper he expects the suit to be dismissed.