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.
I have nearly been in this woman’s place. I was incorrectly served papers, and eventually threatened with arrest, for non-payment of child support. Like Amy, my only crime was sharing the same name as the actual deadbeat.
It was only after numerous phone calls, and a trip downtown where I paid visits to several gubmint offices so that the right people could see I did not match the physical description (major differences, e.g. skin color, height diff. of over a foot, weight almost double...).
Thank God the people I dealt with were fairly reasonable. I just was left wondering if “John Smith” is wanted for some crime, if sometimes the lazy & overzealous LEO’s (not all of them, again Thank God), don’t just run out and nab the first “John Smith” they find...
You are not alone. There is a huge overlap between the “police can do no wrong” and the “holier than thou” crowd.
I would have thought: (1) NiFong; (2) the railroad job done on Tom Delay by a Dim prosecutor in Austin; (3) Hillary’s theft of FBI files; (4) the Scooter Libby prosecution/conviction; and (5) the arrest and conviction of the Border Patrol agents for shooting a illegal alien drug dealer
would have taught the statists something about governmental abuse of power -— but apparently not.
9 days without seeing a Judge, or receiving a bail hearing?
Somebody screwed up big time.
Really? Then perhaps you can tell me what penalty I proposed, because I don't recall proposing any.
God, this board is just riddled with scumbags.
It's refreshing to see you admit that you are part of the problem, even if you did take someone's name in vain. It is an important first step for you, and I applaud you effort to lift yourself out of the slough of your own scumbaggery.
I forgot the: (1) prosecution of Rush Limbaugh and (2) the attempted prosecution of Rush Limbaugh for having Viagra.
When you come up with a previous record on her that says she is a habitual drunk driver let me know. Until then you are just blaming the victim in this case.
At no point on this thread have I so mich as suggested that the police be given a free pass: in point of fact, I affirmed that they should pay for what they did.
If you're thinking that's OK, you ought to move to the ME, China, or Russia.
I was simply pointing out a fact that should be obvious to the most clueless of citizens: if you are wise enough to never get yourself involved the criminal justice system, then the chances of being picked up on someone else's warrant is greatly diminished.
My guess is he would be singing another tune if what happened to her happened to him. Being in there for even an hour is an hour she should not have been there.
The sadder thing is that we'll never cure the system of this malady.
“Not everyone has a 2k retainer for a criminal defense attorney.”
“Which is why the court appoints you one.”
She said she never got her “first appearance.” That is a crime of the local police - its a constitutional right to get an arraignment for an arrest within 48 hours. She can’t get appointed an attorney if she can’t get an appearance before a judge. That police dept is 100% to blame and she does have a case.
I see: you believe that I "deserve" to be raped and sodomized because I disagreed with your posted wisdom.
That speaks volumes about your character.
If I were arrested for a crime I did not commit due to mistaken identity, I would immediately request an attorney and while I was waiting for him to show up I would call my wife and direct her to supply all the documents the lawyer would need to prove my identity and bring them to the station, and also to call a bail bondsman if necessary.
Then I would post bail and go home.
I hope she get’s a good counsel and wipes the floor with them morons who put her in jail.
She has a proven track record of not retaining counsel when appropriate.
Unless she is far cleverer than I suspect and she did get an attorney who advised her to stay in jail longer than necessity would dictate in order to juice the civil suit.
Well, if I'M ever kidnapped for 10 days, I want millions from the perps.
If she didn't have a history of being a drunk who was in the habit of endangering the lives of her fellow citizens she would never have been arrested on this warrant in the first place.
Probably true.
It is surprising that it took that long to uncover the mistake, however I'm sure that the Sheriff's department hears stories of how they have the wrong person on pretty much a daily basis even when they have the right person.
She was in the system with a prior offense, and the court records showed a warrant for her arrest.
They may have even done a quick check of records to make sure on the arrest and checked the name to make sure they had the right person, but didn't dig deeper to find out that it was a different Amy Sellers. She might have also been the only Amy Sellers in the system if that 28 year old didn't have a record prior to the offense for which Amy was arrested.
Since the records were messed up, anyone who investigated her claim that they had the wrong person, probably thought that they had done a good job of confirming that they had the right person.
It sounds like a pretty unique situation that led to this mistake taking so long to figure out. It also sounds like they are looking into how this happened, and how to keep it from happening again.
It doesn't sound like there was any malicious intent, or that there was criminal incompetence on the part of the Sheriff's office. There was a failure in the checks on the system.
She deserves to have any expenses and lost wages paid for by the county, and it sounds like the county is accepting that responsibility and is going to make restitution.
However, I highly doubt she is going to receive a large sum in punitive damages from the County.
It was a horrible mistake, and the County needs to make restitution, but unless there is evidence that this was a known problem in the system and was ignored, punitive damages for a mistake are not appropriate.
The lawsuit lottery attitude that seems to prevail in our society is pretty sad in my opinion.
You are one of a group of FReepers who likes to throw around the term "police state" without having the remotest clue as to what it means.
When you come up with a previous record on her that says she is a habitual drunk driver let me know.
She has a drunk driving conviction and a conviction for driving on a suspended license. That clearly demonstrates a pattern.
“Fact: if she had requested an attorney, she would have gotten one.”
Are you suggesting that from general population she could have asked for an appointed attorney and gotten one?
You couldn’t be more wrong on your “facts”
This is the Sherriffs office committing a FATAL LIABILITY ERROR.
If you have a person in custory due to identity error, they are released IMMEDIATLY, the sherrif does not get to do the sanctimonious “processing”
That goes to the malicious nature of the error.
They KNEW she was the wrong person and kept her in for just an added insult.
The reason I know this stuff is I actually had a client go through this, following the testimony before the duty judge and the order for IMMEDIATE fingerprint processing, my client was released.
The sherriff’s arogance for delay should be punished.
The attorney would have been delighted to clear an entire case so easily.
Wouldn't have worked. All that information was correct for the wrong girl.
Sheriff wanted to arrest Amy M Sellers. Gives clerk form to prepare request dor watrrant for Amy Sellars (No middle initial because form didn't have place for one. Clerk fires up computer Amy J Sellers comes up first on list (cos alphabetical order you know). So the judge is asked to issue warrant with all details entered for the wrong person.
No way a court appoined hack is going to sort that out - if the girl even got a chance to ask for one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.