• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Woman left ‘humiliated and degraded’ after being wrongly arrested leaving cruise ship in major mistake

Home> News> US News

Updated 07:45 20 Sep 2024 GMT+1Published 07:29 20 Sep 2024 GMT+1

Woman left ‘humiliated and degraded’ after being wrongly arrested leaving cruise ship in major mistake

Jennifer Heath Box was wrongly jailed over the Christmas period

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

A woman from Texas is suing police after a mistaken arrest left her 'humiliated and degraded' in jail over Christmas.

Jennifer Heath Box was with her husband on a cruise ship as she disembarked at a port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Christmas Eve in 2022.

The pair were planning to then fly home to Houston to spend Christmas with their children, including her son - a US Marine about to leave for a three-year deployment.

Instead, Box was arrested after leaving the ship and was forced to spend Christmas Day in jail.

Broward County Sheriff's Office has been accused of arresting the wrong woman, according to a lawsuit filed by Box.

Advert

Police thought Box was a woman 23 years younger than her - who also had different colour eyes, hair, and skin tone - that was wanted for felony child endangerment in Texas.

It turns out that the department accidentally put Box's face on the arrest warrant even though her middle and last name were different.

"I've never done anything to where I would find myself on the other side of bars," Box said at a press conference on Thursday (19 September).

Jennifer Heath Box was forced to spend Christmas in a jail cell (CBS)
Jennifer Heath Box was forced to spend Christmas in a jail cell (CBS)

"It was really difficult for me because I had to call my kids and tell them that I wasn't going to be there."

Advert

Box was released from custody on 27 December and called the whole thing 'humiliating' and 'degrading'.

She is now set to file a federal lawsuit against Broward County and the sheriff’s deputies over her arrest.

Bobbi Taylor, an attorney from the Institute for Justice, pointed out: "There were at least 10 differences between the woman on the warrant, Jennifer del Carmen Heath, and the woman standing with me today, Jennifer Heath Box, all of which should have been glaringly obvious to Broward County’s deputies."

Meanwhile, Broward County Sheriff's Office has appeared to blame Texas authorities for the situation.

Bodycam footage shows Box being taken to the police station (Institute for Justice)
Bodycam footage shows Box being taken to the police station (Institute for Justice)

Advert

The sheriff's office said in a statement: "On December 24, 2022, U. S. Customs and Border Patrol alerted a BSO deputy that a passenger exiting a cruise ship at Port Everglades had an outstanding warrant for her arrest on a charge of felony child endangerment.

"The BSO deputy [Peraza] followed the appropriate protocols in handling this matter, and after receiving confirmation of the Harris County warrant, arrested Ms. Box.

"Had it not been for the arrest warrant filed by the Harris County Sheriff's Office, Customs and Border Patrol would not have flagged Ms. Box, BSO would not have been notified and she would not have been arrested."

Box's attorney, Jared McClain, added: "At none of those red flags did anyone in Broward County stop and say, 'Maybe we're making a mistake here.

"Maybe we shouldn't put this woman in jail over Christmas.' So that's why we're here in Broward County."

Advert

LADbible has contacted Broward County Sheriff's Office and Harris County Sheriff's Office for comment.

Featured Image Credit: CBS/Instiute of Justice

Topics: US News, Cruise Ship

Anish Vij
Anish Vij

Anish is a Journalist at LADbible Group and is a GG2 Young Journalist of the Year 2025. He has a Master's degree in Multimedia Journalism and a Bachelor's degree in International Business Management. Apart from that, his life revolves around the ‘Four F’s’ - family, friends, football and food. Email: [email protected]

X

@Anish_Vij

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
3 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Lad reveals shocking consequences after he ignored no sex rule after Turkey hair transplant

    Sometimes the rules are worth listening to

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Security expert issues chilling warning over how AI could be used to attack UK and explains the 'most difficult problem'

    There are seven main terrorism-related threats posed by AI

    News
  • 3 hours ago

    Woman, 21, issues stark warning after £280 a week ketamine addiction left her needing the toilet 'every two seconds'

    The popular drug can cause severe health issues

    News
  • 3 hours ago

    Footballer, 18, dies on lads' holiday before even unpacking bags on trip

    Ryan Long had just landed in Ibiza for his first lads' holiday

    News
  • Cruise passenger fears another 'poop cruise' incident as ship engine fails
  • Couple who live full time on cruise ship share 'true' amount it costs them in total
  • Cruise worker reveals secret reason parts of the ship will get sealed off from guests
  • Major update as police release new details on how girl fell overboard from Disney cruise before dad dived in after her