South Florida Cook Lands In Jail After Police Mistook Him For A Fugitive

A South Florida man says he was wrongfully arrested while police were looking for a fugitive, according to Local 10.

Coconut Creek resident Leonardo Silva Oliveira, 26, was arrested outside of the Deerfield Beach restaurant where he works as a cook on January 20, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported, but it turned out the city's police had the wrong guy. They were looking for someone wanted for violating probation out of Boca Raton, but this fugitive happened to have the same name as Oliveira and looked similar to him.

“I was on 24-hour lockdown. I finally got out of the cell for an hour a day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday," he recounted his experience to reporters. "It was a little window, no TV. Nothing to do but just stare at the walls and try to stay warm."

He spent five days in Broward County Jail before the sheriff's office got ahold of the fugitive's fingerprints and compared the cook's. They did not match, and so, the cook was immediately released, according to a BSO spokesperson.

Oliveira is still questioning why cops arrested him even though he had a different birthday than the fugitive, lacked tattoos, and doesn't have a criminal history.

“How could I be wanted on a probation violation when I’ve never been arrested for anything?" he says. "It was a nightmare."

Sgt. Scotty Leamon, a police spokesperson, told the Sun-Sentinel that authorities in Palm Beach County asked for help identifying the cook as the fugitive. He didn't say which agency made the request. Coconut Creek Police officers also identified Oliveira through the Florida driver and vehicle information database, Local 10 says.

Oliveira hired a lawyer Monday (January 24) to get him released, but he was cleared and let go before the hearing. No word on if the cook will pursue any legal action against the law enforcement agencies involved.

You can read more about the situation here.