A federal lawsuit filed on Sunday claims that a mistake in a warrant resulted in the unconstitutional arrest of a pregnant Vermont woman with the same name as the suspect in a heroin overdose death case.
According to court documents, on July 13, 2022, Orleans County Sheriff Jennifer Harlow and a deputy arrested Alicia Kelley, the plaintiff in the case, at her home in front of her children and parents, based on an incorrectly filed warrant 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 United States District Court for the District of Vermont on June 30. “Her parents and children were home and observed the arrest,” causing “very upset.”
Kelley was then held overnight at the 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 that led to Kelley’s arrest began more than four years ago.
Brianna Radcliffe, 21, overdosed on heroin in a Dunkin’ Doughnuts bathroom in Brattleboro on June 8, 2018, and died in the hospital a few days later.
Following Radcliffe’s death, Detective Greg Eaton began looking into the circumstances surrounding her overdose. Eaton and the Dunkin’ Doughnuts manager went over the surveillance tapes of Radcliffe’s heroin deal, which would kill him.
According to the court filing, the manager recognised the dealer in the footage as his former employee, Alicia Kelley.
On May 20, 2019, nearly a year after Radcliffe’s death, Eaton filed a warrant charging Kelley with selling narcotics that resulted in death.
However, the lawsuit claims that Eaton misidentified Kelley in the warrant.
According to court documents, the women share the same full name — Alicia Kelley — but were born about half a year apart in 1988. The plaintiff was born in the autumn, while the former Dunkin’ Doughnuts employee accused of selling heroin was born in the spring.
According to the complaint, the Vermont Superior Court issued the warrant with plaintiff Kelley’s birth date, despite the fact that he had never met Brianna Radcliffe.
In the complaint, her lawyer, Marsicovetere, claims Eaton had access to information that would have clearly distinguished the women.
“There was no attempt to compare physical attributes using Vermont DMV or other available state databases. “The Defendant did not take any steps to ensure that he correctly identified Alicia M. Kelley in the arrest warrant application,” court documents state.
Eaton, represented by Burlington-based McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan, P.C., declined to comment on the lawsuit’s allegations.
At her arraignment, Kelley pleaded not guilty. The judge reduced her bail to $10,000, which her parents paid with the assistance of a bondsman, according to the complaint.
According to court documents, after the State of Vermont discovered that the warrant contained the incorrect 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 include the birth date of the Kelley who is suspected of providing Radcliffe with the fatal heroin dose.
Plaintiff Kelley’s case against Eaton charges him with unlawful seizure under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. She seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees.
