A federal lawsuit filed on Sunday alleges that a mistake in a warrant caused the unconstitutional arrest of a pregnant Vermont woman who shared the same name as the suspect in a case involving a death from heroin overdose.
Court documents allege that on July 13, 2022, Alicia Kelley, the plaintiff in the case, was arrested at her home in front of her children and parents by Orleans County Sheriff Jennifer Harlow and a deputy, based on a warrant incorrectly filed by the defendant, Brattleboro Det. Lt. Greg Eaton.
Kelley “became distraught, panicked, and was brought to tears,” according to the lawsuit filed by her attorney, Brian Marsicovetere, in the U.S. District Court of Vermont on June 30. “Her parents and children were home and observed the arrest,” becoming “very upset.”
Kelley was then held overnight in Northern State Correctional Facility in Newport, Vermont on a $25,000 bond. The Orleans County Sheriff’s department then “posted a statement containing the details of the arrest on social media, which was viewed by members of (Kelley’s) community,” according to the lawsuit.
The circumstances leading to Kelley’s arrest began over four years earlier.
On June 8, 2018, Brianna Radcliffe, 21, overdosed on heroin in the bathroom of a Dunkin’ Donuts in Brattleboro, dying a few days later in the hospital.
Following Radcliffe’s death, Detective Greg Eaton began investigating the circumstances of her overdose. With the manager of the Dunkin’, Eaton reviewed the surveillance tapes of the heroin deal that would end Radcliffe’s life. According to court filing, the manager recognized the dealer in the footage as a former employee of his: Alicia Kelley.
On May 20, 2019, almost a year after Radcliffe’s death, Eaton applied for a warrant, charging Kelley with selling narcotics that resulted in death.
But according to the lawsuit, Eaton allegedly identified the wrong Kelley in the warrant.
Court documents reveal that while the women share the same full name — Alicia Kelley — the two were born about half a year apart in 1988. The date of birth of the plaintiff is in the fall while the date of birth of the former Dunkin’ employee who allegedly sold the heroin is in the spring.
When the Vermont Superior Court issued the warrant, plaintiff Kelley’s birth date was written on it, despite never having met Brianna Radcliffe, according to the complaint.
In the complaint, her lawyer, Marsicovetere, alleges Eaton had access to information that would have clearly differentiated the women.
“No attempt was made to compare physical attributes based on Vermont DMV or other available state databases. The Defendant did not take any steps to confirm he correctly identified Alicia M. Kelley in the arrest warrant application,” court documents read.
Eaton, who is being represented by McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan, P.C. of Burlington, declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.
At her arraignment, plaintiff Kelley pleaded not guilty. The judge reduced her bail to $10,000, which her parents paid with the help of a bondsman, according to the complaint.
According to court documents, after the State of Vermont learned that the warrant contained the wrong birth date, the state “filed a motion in the Vermont Superior Court to vacate all of Plaintiff’s bail conditions,” and amended the warrant to contain the birth date for the Kelley who is actually suspected of plying Radcliffe with the fatal heroin dose.
Plaintiff Kelley’s case against Eaton accuses him of unlawful seizure under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees.
