Hayslip said his nephew was well known to local police under his real name and was living in the building where the deal took place on video. In his deposition, Bowen also testified that he asked Greenfield police there if they knew an “Aaron Roberts,” even though he knew it was probably a false name. The call was made only after Sheriff Donnie Barrera told deputies they should look because Roberts might be suing the department, according to testimony from Randy Sanders, another detective involved in the case. It came months following the mistaken arrest. Their lone effort? A single phone call to the local police in Greenfield where the drug deal took place. In depositions filed with the court, Bowen acknowledged the wrong man was arrested and that he and his coworkers didn’t look hard for the actual suspect shown on the video after Roberts was released. He filed his federal civil rights lawsuit in November 2017. Roberts was released the next day after hiring a lawyer who quickly convinced the county prosecutor that authorities had the wrong man. So when a Hillsboro Police officer pulled Roberts over a few days before Thanksgiving three years ago, the warrant popped up and he was arrested for selling heroin. Watch Video: False arrest: Trip home from work turns into a years-long nightmare He gave his name as Aaron Roberts to the person buying the drugs, an undercover informant who videoed the encounter. Howland – the person caught on camera, according to his uncle – died of a drug overdose just months after Roberts spent that night in jail. “They never did anything to catch this guy after I was released, and it’s a lot to take to see that unfortunately, the guy died,” said Roberts. Meanwhile, Roberts felt such dismay over the mistaken arrest in November 2015 that the Highland County native moved halfway across the country to escape the scrutiny.īut his federal civil rights lawsuit continues to make its way through the U.S. Hayslip said he saw previous coverage of the false arrest and the pictures and video and identified the suspect as his nephew Howland. Hayslip said Howland’s stepfather Dan Howard also died of an overdose recently. Maybe he could have gotten some help or treatment in jail … he was only selling to support his habit.” “He might still be alive today if the police had arrested him instead or at least found him later. “I loved him like a son, but after he turned 18 there wasn’t much we could do,” said his uncle Wayne Hayslip, who says he tried to help raise Howland for the last 10 years and gave him a job at his recycling business in Wilmington, Ohio. It left two lives irrevocably changed and both families with questions. This tale is all according to court documents and depositions filed in the case and Enquirer research and documents obtained through open records requests. In the meantime, Aaron Roberts moved his family halfway across the country to escape the scrutiny that came with the arrest and suspicion of being a drug dealer. Within a month, Howland overdosed on heroin and died in February 2016. Yet a month after Roberts was released, the department had the right guy in custody – but didn't know it.Īaron Howland, who was 20 at the time, was then let go after two weeks on a minor criminal charge. They made just one phone call to try, and that only came after Roberts sued. HILLSBORO, Ohio – A deputy with the Highland County Sheriff's office made a mistake and had a warrant issued for Aaron Roberts in a drug case, which resulted in the arrest of the married father of six.Īs it turns out, Roberts was the wrong man and filed a federal civil rights lawsuit.Īnd according to new testimony in the case, the deputy in charge of the investigation and his partner didn't go after the actual suspect caught dealing heroin on video captured by an undercover informant. At the time, the Highland County Sheriff’s office never caught the person originally identified in a video of a drug deal. He subsequently sued in federal court and the case is still pending. A few days before that Thanksgiving, Roberts spent the night in jail and was released the next day. What we reported: In January 2018, The Enquirer reported on the 2015 false arrest of Aaron Roberts for a drug trafficking charge in Highland County. Watch Video: Depositions in the Aaron Roberts case
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