A Florida man spent two weeks in jail and missed the birth of his daughter after Jacksonville police arrested him in a case of mistaken identity.
On September 12, authorities from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in Duval County apprehended 29-year-old Samuel Vasquez. He faced allegations of assault, burglary, criminal mischief, grand theft, and animal cruelty.
Vasquez spent four days in detention at the Duval County jail before being transferred 200 miles further to Polk County, where he remained jailed for an additional 13 days, consistently asserting his innocence throughout.
During the two weeks he spent jailed, he missed the birth of his second child, a baby girl.
All the while, the similarly-named man police had actually been searching for, Samuel Vazquez, 41 – with a ‘z’ instead of an ‘s’ – was walking free.
The young father’s ordeal only ended when attorneys with Joshi Law Firm stepped in to prove Vasquez’s innocence.
‘An innocent man was arrested; an innocent man went to jail,’ Rajan Joshi, Senior Partner at the firm, told FOX35.
‘In 25 years, I’ve never seen a more sloppy investigation than this – ever.’
The investigation revealed that law enforcement was actually seeking a different individual accused of attacking his former partner and her dog near a Publix in Davenport, as detailed in a report from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Samuel Vasquez (right) was arrested in a case of mistaken identity for crimes committed by a man with a similar name, Samuel Vazquez (left)
During the two weeks he was wrongfully jailed, Vasquez missed the birth of his second child
Although the alleged crime was captured by security cameras, the wrong individual was still apprehended. The only commonality between the true suspect and Vasquez was their shared first name.
The ages of the two men, as well as their birthdates, heights and weights were all different.
Jonathan Vega, from Joshi Law Firm, remarked, ‘All the police needed to do was examine the footage—spot the real criminal’s face and verify it against the detained individual—and they would have recognized their mistake.’
Vasquez had no prior criminal history at the time of his arrest, but Vazquez had been out on parole when he allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend.
Other than their similar names, the two men shared few other similarities and had different ages, birthdates, heights and weights
Despite having all the correct information, including the suspect’s accurate name, details, and residence, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office report failed to prevent the erroneous arrest.
Vega proved Vasquez’s innocence by taking a basic step that police neglected.
He showed the woman who had been assaulted a picture of the Samuel that police arrested.
‘I show[ed] her a photo – the mugshot of my client – and she tells me, I’ve never seen that man before,’ Vega said.
Joshi Law Firm then reached out to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s office with its findings.
The charges against Vasquez were quickly dropped and he was released from custody.
The correct Vazquez was booked in Charlotte County soon after, and he is awaiting extradition to Polk County according to jail records.
