ORANGE PARK, Fla. — A Clay County probationary sheriff’s deputy has been terminated following an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct. Those allegations stem from a Middleburg man who says he was wrongfully arrested and thousands of dollars was stolen from him by at least one deputy after he was booked into jail. The deputy is not being named in this story because he has not been charged with a crime. 

Now, the sheriff’s office has responded to those claims. 

Willie Davis Jr. was arrested along Wells Road in Orange Park in Sept. 2024. He was taken into custody by Clay County Sheriff’s Deputies who said Davis hit a car in a parking lot, and appeared to be under the influence.

At the time of his arrest, Davis had $6,900 in cash on him, but Davis’ attorney, Dan Faherty, said only $2,900 made it into his client’s account at the jail that night.

“It’s our position that this entire thing was a rouse in order to obtain my client’s money and there was no probable cause to pull him over at any point,” Faherty said.

The case against Davis was dismissed weeks later. Now, Davis wants his money back.

Faherty filed a letter of intent to sue for damages back in April 2025, along with a civil theft letter against two deputies involved with his arrest.

The sheriff’s office had six months to take action, and on May 22, Davis received a letter from the agency.

“It was a little disappointing because there were no specific codes of conduct or any other specific action that had been taken. It was just kind of, albeit a formal letter, it was very general,” Faherty said.

The letter from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office stated the allegation that a member of the agency violated the sheriff’s office, code of conduct was sustained, and corrective action was taken. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office confirmed a probationary officer has been terminated.

“We hold all of our deputies and employees to the highest standards and this probationary deputy failed to meet those standards,” Sheriff Michelle Cook said in a statement.

Faherty said they still plan to go through with their lawsuits. They are seeking $200,000 in damages for the allegations of illegally arresting Davis and violating his fourth amendment rights, along with $12,000 for the money that was taken from Davis.

“We have certainly not seen any compensation coming our way to my client, nor have we seen any apologies or mea culpas for violating his civil rights, so none of that has happened,” Faherty said.