Glamorous cruise ship passenger says life was ruined by horrific mistake after she stepped off vessel in Florida

A glamorous cruise vessel rider says her life was ruined aft authorities made a horrific correction erstwhile she stepped disconnected a alloy successful Florida.

Jennifer Heath Box, now 50, had conscionable returned to Port Everglades from a weeklong voyage onboard Royal Caribbean's Harmony of nan Seas connected Christmas Eve 2022 erstwhile she was swarmed by information guards and Broward County sheriff's deputies.

They told her she was being arrested connected kid endangerment charges successful Harris County, Texas, and Box was handcuffed and taken disconnected nan ship.

She went connected to walk 3 days down bars, enduring horrendous conditions including a antheral inmate who routinely tried to participate her compartment while she was alone, officers blasting decease metallic complete nan speakers and freezing temperatures that forced her to slumber back-to-back pinch different inmate conscionable to support warm, nan mother-of-three claimed astatine a news convention connected Thursday, according to NBC Miami.

But cops successful Texas were really searching for different female pinch a akin name, Jennifer Del Carmen Heath.

Box is now suing Broward County and Sheriff's Deputy Peter Peraza, whom her lawyers opportunity violated her law authorities to beryllium free from unreasonable searches and seizures, arsenic good arsenic her correct to owed process.

They said Box many times tried to show Peraza that he had nan incorrect person, and erstwhile a booking serviceman ran Box's driver's licence number, he too, told nan lawman that she had nary outstanding warrants.

The attorneys besides said that a number of different specifications from nan warrant should person alerted Peraza and nan different deputies that Box was not nan fishy Harris County authorities were looking for - including nan sanction quality and nan quality successful ages betwixt Box and Heath, which is 23 years.

Heath was besides 5 inches shorter than Box, had different colour eyes, hairsbreadth and tegument tone, had a different location address, driver's licence number, Social Security number and Harris County System Person Number.

Additionally, Heath had 5 young children, whereas Box had 3 big children and nary grandchildren.

'They had astatine slightest 10 to 12 different pieces of accusation attached to nan warrant that screamed to them, this was not their suspect,' lawyer Jared McClain argued, according to nan Tampa Bay Times.

But still, he said, Peraza - who was reinstated astatine nan deapartment aft being acquitted of manslaughter successful the shooting a man who had an aerial firearm successful 2013 - continued to insist she was nan fishy based connected nan photograph attached to nan warrant retired of Texas, and forced Box to portion hunt earlier booking her successful jail.

She says she past missed Christmas pinch her big children, and was not capable to opportunity goodbye to her son, a US Marine who was conscionable 3 days distant from being deployed to Japan for 3 years.

'Having to telephone my kids and show them I wasn't going to beryllium location for Christmas, and to perceive that I wounded them because I wasn't there, that's nan first point that tears astatine you,' Box said.

The conditions astatine nan Broward County Jail conscionable made it worse.

'You consciousness wholly surgery erstwhile you're arrested because you're humiliated, you're degraded, it breaks you arsenic a person,' Box said. 

'I'm angry astir it. I've ne'er been successful problem pinch nan rule before,' she added. 

Eventually, Box's relative - a constabulary serviceman himself, urged some Broward County and Harris County officials to comparison her fingerprints to Del Carmen Heath's.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said they asked authorities successful Harris County connected December 26 for fingerprints to corroborate they had nan correct person, but received a consequence hours later that nan region had nary prints connected grounds because Box had ne'er been arrested before, Local 10 News reported past year. 

But Box's relative was later capable to find that a Harris County worker accidentally attached Box's driver's licence photograph to nan warrant alternatively of Del Carmen Heath's.

By December 27, Broward County officials said, they received a connection from their partners successful Texas saying 'Release our clasp connected nan supra named taxable arsenic soon arsenic possible' without immoderate further explanation, and Box was released from custody.

As she was released, Box said, a lawman told her simply, 'It happens.'

'Broward County should person systems successful spot to guarantee that nan personification they're putting successful jailhouse is nan personification that they're intending to put successful jail, peculiarly erstwhile they're enforcing out-of-jurisdiction warrants, which they do regularly astatine Port Everglades,' McClain based on arsenic he announced nan suit connected Thursday.

'They cognize this problem exists and they person done thing to hole it.' 

The Broward County Sheriff's Office now says it 'sympathizes pinch nan difficult business Ms. Jennifer Heath Box was in.'

But officials said they reviewed Peraza's actions and 'no worker misconduct was found.

'On December 24, 2022, US Customs and Border Patrol alerted a BSO lawman that a rider exiting a cruise vessel astatine Port Everglades had an outstanding warrant for her apprehension connected a complaint of felony kid endangerment,' a spokesperson for nan section said.

'The BSO lawman followed nan due protocols successful handling this matter, and aft receiving confirmation of nan Harris County warrant, arrested Ms. Box.

'Had it not been for nan apprehension warrant revenge by nan Harris County Sheriff's Office, Customs and Border Patrol would not person been notified and she would not person been arrested.'

No suit has been revenge against Harris County, and nan lawsuit against Del Carmen Heath was dismissed 2 days aft Box was released from jail, nan Tampa Bay Times reports.