A Royal Caribbean cruise passenger is suing the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Florida after being wrongfully arrested for child endangerment.
The 50-year-old woman, Jennifer Heath Box, was detained for three days after disembarking from a family cruise trip in Fort Lauderdale in December 2022.
Officers mistook her for Jennifer del Carmin Heath, a woman 23 years younger, who was wanted in a felony case involving a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old child.
Highlights
- Jennifer Heath Box is taking legal action after being wrongfully detained due to officers mistaking her for a younger woman with a similar name.
- Officers ignored discrepancies in birth year and physical appearances, insisting the photo on the warrant justified her arrest.
- The incident occurred after Heath Box disembarked from a family cruise in Fort Lauderdale in December 2022.
As Heath Box disembarked from the Harmony of the Seas, her life took a rather unharmonious turn when her ID came up with a warning.
Image credits: Institute for Justice
“At that point, security surrounded me along with the police, asked me if I was Jennifer Heath, and asked me to remove my jewelry,” the woman told WPLG.
She was then told there was an active warrant for her arrest out of her native Houston, Texas.
“I said, ‘What am I being arrested for?’ That’s whenever they said ‘child endangerment.’ They escorted me off the ship in front of everyone.
“All they kept saying (was) ‘look at the picture.’”
Officers mistook Heath Box for Jennifer del Carmin Heath, a woman 23 years younger who was wanted in a case involving child endangerment
Image credits: Institute for Justice
Image credits: Institute for Justice
Despite the description not matching her at all (the search warrant was issued for someone born in 1997), it was Heath Box’s photo that was attached to the warrant, leading Sheriff’s Deputy Peter Peraza to believe that he had their woman.
Heath Box was then taken to Broward County Jail. Officers ran her driver’s license and found nothing in the system for her.
Despite this, Peraza insisted on not releasing Heath Box. “[He] came back and said, ‘No. It is her. Let me show you. I can prove to you it is her. I will show you the picture.’ Again, that was all he was focused on.”
The 50-year-old was jailed after a family cruise because her photo had been accidentally attached to the warrant
Image credits: Institute for Justice
“When I was getting released, I was told, ‘We are sorry it happened,’” Heath Box said.
“I am spending my funds trying to clear my name, and so far, I have spent $10,000 of my savings trying to clear my name.”
Officers refused to release Heath Box despite the warrant stating that the accused was born in 1997
Image credits: Institute for Justice
Image credits: WPLG Local 10
The real suspect, Jennifer del Carmin Heath, had a different skin tone, was five inches (12 cm) shorter, and had a different hair and eye color, as per The Post.
The 50-year-old, who had been on the cruise with her family to celebrate her brother completing cancer treatment, said she’s “terrified” of being wrongfully incarcerated again.
Officers repeatedly told Heath Box to "look at the picture," insisting that it justified keeping her behind bars
Heath Box was eventually released from jail when Broward County learned that Harris County in Texas had attached the wrong photo to the warrant.
The woman and her attorney, Jared McClain, have not sued Harris County, as they believe that only one employee made the mistake.
Instead, Heath Box has recently taken legal action against the Broward County officers she believes are responsible for failing to acknowledge their mistake despite the physical differences between the women.