Posted on 08/07/2007 9:02:39 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
OCALA, Fla. -- The Internal Affairs Division of the Marion County Sheriff's Office has launched an investigation into a clerical error that mistakenly put a woman behind bars for nine days.
Amy Sellers, 22, of Ocala, was taken into custody about two weeks ago for a warrant that matched another 28-year-old woman named Amy Sellers.
Sellers, who had not committed any crimes, said she was taken into custody and immediately thrown into the inmate population.
"When I found out, I got no first appearance and I (didn't get) to see a judge," Sellers said. "They put me into population."
The Marion County Sheriff's Office admitted that Sellers' incident was a mistake.
"Due to a clerical error, the incorrect information was put into the computer system for a warrant that matched another Amy Sellers, who also has a criminal history in Marion County," a sheriff's office statement issued Monday said.
Sellers is in the system for drunken driving and driving with a suspended license four years ago but has not been arrested since.
Sellers' boyfriend said he spent days trying to show the sheriff's office the error. He said when the sheriff's office finally believed him, the jail kept Sellers another day to verify the mistake.
Sellers said she lost 15 pounds while behind bars and is considering suing over the incident.
"My faith in the justice system is crumbled and gone completely and I don't know if I will ever be able to salvage it again," Sellers said. "What if I was a single mother, 30 years old, that this happened to that for 10 days was in jail for the wrong reasons and lost her kids and job."
The sheriff's office said it would reimburse Sellers for any expenses she incurred while jailed.
Sellers said, "That is a joke," Local 6 reported.
The Internal Affairs Division is also investigating the warrant process in connection with the case.
It's the only time I've ever had more than a speeding ticket.
If you are correct, then they do things a whole lot different in NJ than most other jurisdictions. I’ve been to many a national judges conference and I’ve never heard of it before.
The court is the place where it is determined under oath whether the person’s financial status qualifies them for a public defender. No one in a jail house has the authority to do that.
You are telling me you have not made a ton of assumptions about this woman??? What a laugh, read your prior posts....
“God, this board is just riddled with scumbags.”
The intelligence and character of FReepers took a sharp dowturn last year and has yet to recover.
And I have not even received a request for permission to use my screenname or an apology for using my screenname without permission from that other, sketchy forum which shall remain nameless (and which will fold up as soon as Giuliani loses the GOP nomination).
Both our President and Vice President have DUI ‘arrests’ on their records....Is there a pattern there?
_______
Off with their heads.
Its been fun everyone. I’ve got to get into court for an in-custody felon who wants his “first appearance.” Seriously.
Cheers
When people are involved, mistakes will happen. But the sheriff’s department needs to do what they can to make it right, e.g. sending a letter to her employer, reimbursing her for missed days of work.
Correct. So if the defendant doesn't qualify for a public defender, the attorney does not get appointed and he will presumably bill the defendant for the expenses already incurred - since the court certainly won't pay them.
I have said the following about the woman: she has a criminal record (for drunk driving) and she didn't hire an attorney.
Those are facts.
Of course, you are simply sidestepping the fact that you doctored a quote from me to make it appear that I said something I did not say.
Did either of them violate the terms of their probation or drive on suspended licenses in defiance of the court?
Or did they learn their lessons and walk the straight and narrow afterwards?
I have a feeling the department is overworked and understaffed. This area saw a huge population boom over the past few years. Lake county has been slow to build up infrastructure to support, I’ll bet Marion is the same way.
Um......it was mistaken identity. Her only crime was having the same name. Please read the article again.
scumbags Jackboot lickers
Police lock up wrong woman
She was stuck behind bars for 10 days
OCALA - When a Marion County Sheriff's deputy parked in the driveway on July 27, Amy Jean Sellers walked out with an embarrassed smile on her face. Her parents were out of town and she was doing some work around the house for them.
She had her ID in her hand.
"I thought I had accidentally set off the alarm. My parents have all these codes for everything," said Sellers, 22. "Of course, I approached him with a smile on my face, saying, 'Oh, officer, it's OK. It's my parents' house. I'm their daughter.'ʢ
Her boyfriend was on his way to pick her up. They were going to have dinner.
Instead, Sellers' smile turned to tears when the deputy told her he was arresting her for not showing up to work gang camp.
She explained it wasn't possible. She had served her time in 2003 for misdemeanor driving under the influence and then violating probation because she drove with a suspended license.
Still, she was taken to the Marion County Jail. And she remained there for 10 days until, finally, this case of mistaken identity was resolved.
Sellers' father, Craig, cracked the case. He went to the courthouse, checked out the court file and determined that another Amy Sellers - one whose middle name was different than his daughter's - should have been arrested.
Law officers eventually deduced what happened and arranged for Amy J. Sellers to get out of jail Sunday. As of late Monday, Amy M. Sellers - the woman who was supposed to be arrested in the first place - was not in custody.
"I was powerless," Amy J. Sellers said of her time behind bars. "I sent requests to get some paperwork. I asked to go to the law library. I asked to see the judge so he could straighten this out. But they told me I couldn't see a judge or go to first appearance."
FORM AND (MAL)FUNCTION
On Oct. 20, 2006, County Judge John Futch issued a warrant for Amy Sellers, age 28. She was accused of violating probation by failing to report to work gang camp. She was convicted in 2006 of driving with a suspended license.
Marion County Sheriff's Cpl. Alesia Chisholm submitted the violation information for Amy Sellers.
The form that Chisholm filled out did not include a middle initial for the defendant. The Sheriff's Office form also had no areas with date of birth information, race, sex or Social Security number information to make it more specific.
Chisholm filled out the violation of probation form with the correct court file number. But a review of the court file shows the form is the only sheet of paper that doesn't reflect "M" as the defendant's middle initial.
After the judge signed the warrant, it was turned over to the Sheriff's Office warrants division. An officer looked up the name on the computer and printed out the warrant sheet.
The warrant sheet shows an Amy Sellers was to be arrested. Again, there was no middle initial. The address information, date of birth and description reflected that of Amy Jean Sellers.
It turns out the warrant clerk entered the information for the first Amy Sellers that popped up in the system.
"Unfortunately for us, we had two Amy Sellers and we had the wrong one," said Capt. Jimmy Pogue, the Sheriff's Office public information officer.
INITIAL REACTION: FORMS NEED IMPROVING
Capt. John Vowinkel, head of the warrants division, said it wasn't the first time the agency has arrested the wrong person. But he said it mostly happens with men, especially fathers and sons who share the same name but are juniors and seniors.
Since October, the violation of probation forms have changed. A line for race, date of birth and Social Security number have been added. Sheriff's officials said Monday evening that the form is going to change again to reflect the defendant's address. The law enforcement agency is also conducting a review to determine what improvements can be made to the system.
Both Sellers women have their fingerprints on file at the jail, but officials didn't see that they had the wrong person because the warrant form reflected Amy Jean Sellers, which matched their fingerprint database.
Pogue said his agency is sorry for the confusion, but said sometimes mistakes are bound to happen.
"We're hoping that citizens understand that when you serve almost 9,000 warrants a year, we're bound to make mistakes. We don't want to arrest the wrong person. But we're human, too. We make mistakes," Pogue said.
Sellers understands. She's upset, but at the same time relieved. It could have been worse.
"I'm glad this happened to me, who has a strong support network who stuck by me and looked up the case and got it figured out. But what if I was a 30-year-old single mother who lost her kids [to the Department of Children and Families] and lost her job 'cause of this?"
the OTHER woman did get in front of the judge, they were not assuming, just midlessly following their records.
She would be able to talk to the OTHER woman’s lawyer when he got around to visiting her in jail OR the PD when her case EVENTUALLY rolled onto the docket.
sure it does...that was part of my point
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