Thursday, February 27, 2014

Innocent Teenager Spent 35 Year In Prison For Looking Like The Criminal

They had the same name, were born in the same year and went to the same Florida school.

But four police officers have now been 'disciplined' for their incompetence in arresting the wrong Cody Williams in relation the sexual battery of someone younger than 12, forcing an innocent teen to spend 35 days behind bars.
The case started when a girl from Clay High School in Green Cove Springs claiming
to have had sex with a boy named Cody Williams on or around Halloween in 2012.
The victim - who was under 12 but her age has not been disclosed - told investigators what the boy looked like and where he attended school, reported The Florida Times-Union.

Two months later police arrested Cody Lee Williams of Green Cove Springs, who had a previous run-in with the law relating to marijuana.

He was jailed on a sexual battery charge, however the officers never showed a picture of him to the girl to verify the suspect. 'I can’t even tell you the horror of hearing those words,' Williams said.

'My heart just started beating really fast and all my insides just kind of dropped.' Sheriff Rick Beseler said his department makes between 7,000 and 8,000 arrests a year and that this was not a 'routine' problem.

Deputy Sheriff Johnny Hawkins, who interviewed the victim and arrested Williams, will find out this week whether he will receive a 10-day suspension as punishment.

Williams had called his mother from jail and told her be believed police had accused the wrong Cody Williams.

Both teens attended the same school since seventh grade and were born the same year.

The two students even shared the same teacher, though in different classes, and that teacher called them by their middle names to avoid confusion. Williams said he knew Cody Raymond Williams, but didn’t run in the same social group.

Finally, after being contacted by Williams' mother, Sheriff Williams got in touch with the victim and organized a photo line up.

She said Cody Lee Williams was not the boy she had sex with. Williams case was expunged, however he had already been in jail a total of 35 days.

Cody Ramond Williams has since been charged with the crime and will face court on a sexual assault charge on March 3.

'It seems there was no investigation done other than my client's name,' said Kristopher Nowicki, Williams attorney. 'It is not Cody Williams’ obligation to investigate crimes on behalf of the state of Florida.'

An internal investigation found that Hawkins failed to properly identify a suspect, failed to properly document information obtained in the investigation, made inaccurate statements in reports and failed to properly document actions taken in an investigation.

'As a result of your incompetence, an innocent man was arrested for an offense that he did not commit,' Sheriff Beseler told Hawkins in a February disciplinary letter.

Deputy Sheriff Jason Wright, Sgt. Daniel Moreland and Sgt. Eric Twisdale will all receive 'formal counseling' for their roles in the Williams case that will permanently be placed in their files.

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