A man wrongfully incarcerated in a psychiatric facility in Hawaii has been awarded a settlement of $975,000 after being mistakenly arrested.
Joshua Spriestersbach, who was homeless at the time of his arrest, found himself in a psychiatric hospital due to a case of mistaken identity. Police had arrested him for crimes committed by a different individual, Thomas Castleberry, back in 2017, according to court documents.
This case of mistaken identity began years before when Spriestersbach, now 54, was discovered sleeping at Kawananakoa Middle School in Punchbowl. During the encounter, he inadvertently provided police with the wrong name.
Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Spriestersbach didn’t provide his first name but instead mentioned his grandfather’s last name: Castleberry.
Upon checking the name, officers found an outstanding warrant from 2009 for Thomas Castleberry, who was wanted for several drug offenses.
Spriestersbach was subsequently arrested but later missed his court appearance, leading to his prolonged and unjust detention.
Years later, Spriestersbach was awoken again by cops outside the Safe Haven shelter in Chinatown and arrested on the outstanding warrant after Castleberry’s name was listed as one of his aliases.
Despite repeatedly insisting he wasn’t Castleberry, Spriestersbach spent four months at Oʻahu Community Correctional Center and more than two years at the Hawaii State Hospital before he was released in January 2020.
“Prior to January 2020, not a single person acted on the available information to determine that Joshua was telling the truth – that he was not Thomas R. Castleberry,” a lawsuit filed by him states.
“Instead, they determined that Joshua was delusional and incompetent just because he refused to admit that he was Thomas R. Castleberry and refused to acknowledge Thomas R. Castleberry’s crimes.”
The Honolulu City Council approved the $975,000 settlement for Spriestersbach at a meeting last week.
He also may receive a $200,000 settlement from the state to resolve legal claims against the Hawaii’s public defender’s office.
Hawaii police and the mayor’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
With Post wires
