Woman released from jail after wrongful arrest
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A pregnant woman is reunited with her family after being arrested and held in jail for hours for crimes she didn't commit.
Deanne Whilby, 36, embraced her husband after being released from Broward County jail Thursday afternoon. The mother of two, who is currently six months pregnant, says she never should have had to spend the nerve-wracking five and a half hours behind bars.
During a meeting with Immigration Services on Thursday, a background check revealed she was wanted by police on several charges. The person of interest was not Whilby, however, but rather a relative who had previously used the woman's identity to escape charges.
Whilby says her cousin, Stephanie Shaw, stole her identification months ago and gave police the pregnant woman's name during an arrest for marijuana possesion and prostitution.
Whilby quickly obtained a letter from the State Attorney's office proving she wasn't the wanted woman.
It reads, "We recieved your letter, along with other documents, and I have reviewed your case and have found that the case doesn't pertain to you, but to imposter Stephanie Shaw who has been using your name when she was arrested."
Whilby says she has kept the letter with her at all times, using it at airport security just months ago when she was stopped for a routine immigration check. It worked.
She also used it after a car accident and a recent traffic violation. It worked then, as well.
But Thursday, during the immigration meeting, Davie police were called.
"He said he had to take me in, and I said to him, 'Even though I have the letter?'" Whilby said. "He said, 'Yes.'"
Davie officials say the officer responsible for taking Whilby into custody was only doing his job in making the arrest.
"The unfortunate part is Ms. Whilby's letter is from July of 2006, and here we are in the latter part of October 2006. That warrant was still in the system," said Lt. Bill Bamford of the Davie Police Department. "That puts us in a very precarious situation, because as an officer of the court, that officer is told that if he makes contact with someone who has a warrant, to bring them before a magistrate to answer for the charges that they're wanted for."
However, Whilby says a call was never made to the State Attorney's office to verify the letter.
"In this case, he could have used a little more due diligence, calling the State Attorney's office, since we don't know if that was an authentic letter or not," Lieutenant Bamford said. "It didn't have a judge's seal on it, and it didn't have a clerk's seal on it."
Police pulled Whilby's criminal file once she was in custody. Authorities confirmed that the picture on file did not match that of Whilby. The expectant mother was still held for several hours before she was released.
Officials say the officer responsible for Whilby's arrest is a 22-year veteran with the department. Authorities blame the incident on miscommunication with all parties involved.
(Copyright 2006 by The Sunbeam TV Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
