Man held in jail for weeks after justice system confuses him with someone else
Wrong man jailed for weeks after mistaken identity mix-up
A Central Florida man says he spent nearly two months in jail after authorities mistakenly identified him as another man with a similar name, prompting an internal review by corrections officials.
ORLANDO, Fla. - A Central Florida man says he spent nearly two months in jail after authorities mistakenly identified him as another man with a similar name, prompting an internal review by corrections officials.
Eric Mcline Evans Jr. was arrested May 19 in Osceola County on trespassing and drug-related charges and said he expected to be released the same day.
Months behind bars
What they're saying:
On May 19th, Eric Mcline Evans Jr. (who goes by "EJ") got picked up on a trespassing charge In Osceola County. The cops said they found drugs on him too.
But he figured the charges weren’t too serious.
"I thought I was getting out the same day," he told FOX 35 Investigative Reporter Marie Edinger.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP
Instead, an Assistant State Attorney told the judge EJ had violated his conditions of release from two cases outside of Orange County, so he was kept in jail.
Only, those two cases had nothing to do with Eric McCline Evans, born July 16th, 1994. They’re for Eric Duane Evans, born February 24th, 1993.
"I told them it was a mix-up. But no, they told me it was nothing they could do," said EJ.
Six weeks after EJ was brought to jail, prosecutors in Osceola County still hadn’t filed formal charges against him, so his Public Defender asked for him to be released.
He was. But then was taken to the Orange County Jail because of the other Eric Evans’ revoked bond.
"It was heartache," Ej said. "It was stress to me because I ain't never felt like that before."
There he sat, never provided a chance to go before a judge until July 16th.
When he finally did, the third "Eric" of this story, Judge Eric Dubois, asked for EJ to be fingerprinted. That’s when jail staff realized they had the wrong guy.
SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35'S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS
EJ says when he asked the judge whether he’d get to go home, the judge joked, "Unless you want to stay here and change your name."
EJ didn’t think this was a joking matter.
He says he missed several job interviews because of this, and feels caught in a cycle.
"It’s hard to get a second chance," he said.
What Osceola County Corrections says
The other side:
Osceola County Corrections confirmed they released Eric Mcline Evans to Orange County, and said in a statement they’ve "initiated an internal review of the circumstances surrounding this incident."
What Orange County Corrections says
The Orange County Jail told FOX 35 we’ll have to "check with the arresting agency for a statement regarding these circumstances," adding "The jail is only responsible to detain arrested subjects."
What the Public Defender’s Office says
The Public Defender’s Office says they’re following up with both jails to see how this happened, and to prevent it from happening again.
They added, "On behalf of the entire criminal justice system in the Ninth Circuit, I apologize to Mr. Eric McCliman Evans for the additional and unnecessary time he spent in jail. No one should be wrongfully detained in jail for something they did not do."
You may notice that statement also gets Eric McCline Evans’ name wrong.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by Eric Mcline Evans Jr., Osceola County Corrections, Orange County Corrections, and the Public Defender’s Office.