Florida Sheriff Pays $67,000 to Woman for Wrongful Arrest

A Louisiana mother who was wrongly arrested twice in northeast Florida has settled a lawsuit with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office for $67,000.

The sheriff’s office confirmed that the settlement was reached last month, and it was paid through the agency’s insurer.

Records show that Ashley Nicole Chiasson spent four weeks in jail starting in January on grand theft charges and another week in jail this spring on a charge of writing bad checks. She was extradited from her home state of Louisiana.

But authorities were actually seeking a woman named Ashley Odessa Chiasson both times. That woman was arrested several days after the mistaken arrests became public knowledge.

The Florida Times-Union reports that Sheriff Rick Beseler suspended four deputies – including two supervisors – without pay for the mistakes.