Cops arrest wrong woman in fatal drug overdose case: Lawsuit
Share and Follow

Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, Vermont (Department of Corrections).

A woman named Alicia M. Kelley is suing a Vermont police officer after he allegedly issued a warrant for her arrest for selling heroin that led to a fatal overdose.

The problem? He obtained a warrant for the wrong Alicia M. Kelley.

Kelley filed the lawsuit in Vermont”s U.S. District Court on June 30. According to the suit, the origin of the mishap happened on June 8, 2018, when a 21-year-old woman overdosed on heroin in the bathroom of a Dunkin’ in Brattleboro. She died three days later.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

Brattleboro Police Department Sgt. Greg Eaton, who is the only defendant named in the suit, learned a former Dunkin’ employee named Alicia M. Kelley sold the victim the heroin that led to the fatal overdose. The drug deal was captured on surveillance camera and a Dunkin’ manager identified Kelley as the suspect, the lawsuit said.

Nearly a year later, in May 2019, Eaton applied for and obtained a warrant for Kelley’s arrest. Eaton allegedly used a Department of Motor Vehicle’s database to identify the wrong Alicia M. Kelley. The women were born roughly five months apart in 1988. Kelley’s lawyers allege Eaton “did not attempt to confirm that he had the correct date of birth” for the suspect nor compare photos of the two women.

On July 13, 2022, some three years after the warrant was issued, the plaintiff Alicia M. Kelley, who was pregnant at the time, was at her North Troy home with her two children and parents when deputies from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office arrived to place her under arrest.

More from Law&Crime: ‘Sleep it off’: Woman forced to give birth ‘while standing upright on a concrete floor’ in jail, staffers posed for pictures with the newborn after, lawsuit says

Kelley “became distraught, panicked, and was brought to tears,” the lawsuit stated. Her parents told deputies there must be some mistake but their pleas did not change the outcome. The kids became “very upset,” according to the lawsuit. The sheriff’s office posted on social media about the arrest, her lawyer Brian R. Marsicovetere noted.

Cops transported Kelley to Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport on a $25,000 bond. She spent the night and a judge lowered her bond to $10,000 which her parents paid the day after her arrest, the lawsuit said. Once prosecutors realized the mistake, they filed a motion to vacate all of her bond conditions. The Alicia M. Kelley allegedly responsible for the drug overdose death remains wanted, per plaintiff lawyers.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

Florida Grandmother Charged with Husband’s Murder and Concealment in Herb Garden

In early 2012, a series of perplexing stories began to emerge from…

O.J. Simpson’s $58 Million Payout to Ron Goldman’s Family: Justice Served Decades Later

Fred Goldman has moved a step closer to reclaiming the millions owed…

DOJ Challenges Trump-Appointed Judge’s Ruling on National Guard: What You Need to Know

Left: Donald Trump speaks at the annual Road to Majority conference in…

Shocking Case of Child Abuse: Parents Arrested for Brutal Assault with Metal Flyswatter and Belt

Left: Lewis Nuzum II. Right: Josephine Nuzum (West Virginia Division of Corrections…

New York Couple and Juvenile Face Charges for Alleged Abuse of Four Children

Last week, authorities in New York arrested a couple and an unnamed…

Shoplifting Shock: Woman Attempts Assault on Dollar Store Employee After Theft Incident

Share In a startling incident in Indiana, a woman is accused of…

Tragic Twist: Convicted Felon Blames Burglar After Fatally Shooting Girlfriend at Doorstep

An Alabama woman has tragically lost her life in a shooting incident,…

Shocking Incident: Off-Duty Cop Accused of Firing 17 Shots into Man’s Back – Uncover the Full Story

Insets, from left: Atlanta police Officer Gerald Walker (APD) and Linton Blackwell…