A similar thing happened to my husband about 10 years ago in Texas. He was pulled over for speeding (he was guilty of that) and the computer said he had a suspended license for failure to submit to a breathalizer (which was NOT true). He ended up spending the night in the drunk tank (as the only sober one there). When he finally got to see a judge the next day (in shackles with a dozen other guys), the bailiff told them they were not allowed to approach or speak to the judge. My husband was brave enough to ignore that and interrupt the judge and tell his side of the story. They checked it out, found the clerical error, and let him go.
During the “inventory” of his vehicle, they found his pistol. He didn’t have a concealed carry permit yet (the concealed carry law was brand-new back then), so he was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon. It took about $4500 (a good chunk of our savings for a down payment on a house) to get it all cleared up. It was scary and a huge hassle. It took almost 2 years to get his gun back and his record cleared, and when he got it back, it had been thoroughly cleaned, so someone had taken it out of “evidence” and played around with it.
We asked a lawyer if we could sue and she said no, since it was an “honest mistake” and not malicious. I feel sorry for this woman.
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...
9 days without seeing a Judge, or receiving a bail hearing?
Somebody screwed up big time.
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.
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.
Turns out this happens quite frequently in the area. And for wideawake, just as an FYI, she was arrested once for DUI and driving while license was suspended while, pay attention, she was a teenager. That was the last and only time. Guess she wasn't a habitual drunk after all, just a normal teenager.
hummmmmm She lost 15 pounds in 9 days......... ya know what I am thinking?
Easy weight loss clinic. Apply today!
The awesome power of the legal system has to be used properly. This seems to be a dumb mistake. The authorities should pay her $500,000 and give her a letter of apology.
It's the only time I've ever had more than a speeding ticket.
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.
Speaking as a former union rep, I would feel lucky if my guy got less than a thirty day suspension without pay for failing to confirm identification. Just a few moments spent checking records and or previous booking photos would have saved the officer's employer a lot of grief. I have to wonder if a towed or stored vehicle was involved?
This is why people give their kids weird names. This wouldn’t have happened if her name was LeShawndranita Chrysler Sellers!
We’re not doing too good down here.
Clerical failure led to wrongful arrest, he says
Man says he cleared up confusion when his brother used his name, but Sheriff’s Office didn’t follow through with the paperwork Tuesday, August 07, 2007By DAN MURTAUGHStaff Reporter
A Fulton, Ala., man has filed a lawsuit claiming that he was wrongly arrested because of an administrative error by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.
Gerald Blaine Newton is seeking unspecified damages and has listed the Sheriff’s Office, former Sheriff Jack Tillman, current Sheriff Sam Cochran, the Mobile County Commission and the Mobile City Council as defendants in the 2005 incident.
Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kate Johnson said that as of Monday afternoon, the Sheriff’s Office had not been served with the lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday in Mobile County Circuit Court.
Newton’s attorney, Philip Perkins of Thomasville, also could not be reached for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Newton’s brother, Brent Newton, was arrested in Mobile on April 7, 2005. Brent Newton gave authorities his brother’s name, according to the lawsuit.
Two weeks later, Gerald Newton found out and drove to Mobile County to clear up the confusion, according to the suit. Sheriff’s deputies cleared him of the charges and gave him paperwork to prove he was innocent of any wrongdoing, the lawsuit claims.
But the Sheriff’s Department failed to file the necessary paperwork to eliminate the charges from computer records, the lawsuit claims, and Newton was arrested in Monroe County in August and sent back to Mobile County Metro Jail.
Even after Newton showed jail employees the paperwork, they continued to keep him locked up, the lawsuit contends.
Jail records show that Brent Newton was booked on April 7, 2005 on a charge of possession of a controlled substance, and that Gerald Newton was booked Aug. 3 and was later released on charges of having an improper tag and not having his driver’s license.
http://www.al.com/news/press-register/index.ssf?/base/news/118647859756020.xml&coll=3
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Brazil!
Pretty wild. “Amy Sellers” doesn’t even strike me as that unique a name. Considering the other woman had a record due to traffic offenses, why in the world would the arresting officer not corroborate her data against state issued ID? Birthdate, SSN/license number ...
My surname isn’t common across the country, but there are 3 of us sharing the same first & last name within 50 miles of each other, often within a 20-mile radius during any weekday. One time I heard my name paged in a retail store to answer a phone call. *Nobody* actually knew I was there, so I walked up to the desk anyway to intorduce myself to one of my “others.” In very general terms, we resemble each other. My other “other” is younger, married to my cousin.
Oddly, there’s another couple around here with the same first & last names as my folks. We know because evidently the other couple doesn’t pay their bills, so collectors end up reaching my parents sometimes.