AI misidentification results in wrongful arrest; man seeks justice

# AI misidentification results in wrongful arrest; man seeks justice Source: [https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/ai-misidentification-results-wrongful-arrest-man-seeks-justice/I7UQJWV33FBN3LMKHCSXI6FIVA/](https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/ai-misidentification-results-wrongful-arrest-man-seeks-justice/I7UQJWV33FBN3LMKHCSXI6FIVA/) CHARLOTTE — Jalil Richardson, a Charlotte resident, spent months incarcerated in Florida and North Carolina after being misidentified by artificial intelligence facial recognition technology for a vehicle theft he did not commit\. Charges against Richardson were dropped last week, following an ordeal that cost him his job, his home, and custody of two of his children\. The wrongful arrest stemmed from an investigation by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office into a stolen car purchased on April 2, 2025\. A deputy used AI to match a suspect from surveillance video and a fake Georgia identification to Richardson with 85 percent accuracy, leading to an arrest warrant for Richardson\. According to court documents, a man in Jacksonville, Florida, contacted law enforcement after he tried to register his new car and found out it was stolen\. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office recovered surveillance video from the parking lot where he bought the vehicle\. The man who bought the vehicle also told a deputy the suspect gave him a fake Georgia identification\. Richardson was later arrested at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina\. He stated he was held in the Mecklenburg County Jail for one month\. He was then extradited to Florida, where he was held for almost two months\. “I sat in there for over 50 days\. In the most worse jail ever,” he explained\. Richardson described his experience as traumatizing\. “It’s very traumatizing and unbelievable\. I lost everything,” Richardson said\. He believes a proper investigation was not done\. “There was no proper investigation done to even reach out to me or to see if I was even in Florida\. He just automatically put a warrant out for my arrest,” Richardson said\. The man who initially called the Sheriff’s Office also picked Richardson out of a lineup\. This led to the issuance of an arrest warrant\. Richardson’s attorney showed time sheets proving he was at work 400 miles away from Florida when the stolen car was sold\. Richardson said he has never been to Florida, and his attorney tried to present this evidence for months\. Prosecutors dropped the case last week, a full year after the initial investigation into the stolen car started\. Richardson alleged racial profiling played a role in his misidentification\. “I want to say racial profiling\. The guy said it was a guy with dreads and a big nose, and then they picked me out of a lineup of guys that look nothing like me,” Richardson said\. While he was incarcerated, Richardson lost his job and his home\. He also said he lost custody of two of his children\. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to a request for comment on their use of facial recognition technology\. The office stated, “Facial recognition technology is used as one tool among many available to investigators\. In this case, it was one tool, but certainly not the only tool, which lent to the probable cause determination that Mr\. Richardson was the perpetrator of these crimes\.” Richardson is now trying to find a way forward and is seeking help and resources\. “I’m not sure how I’m going to bounce back from this one\. It’s a lot\. I’m trying to take it one day at a time and get any help and any resources that I can,” Richardson said\. Richardson is struggling to find a new job because his mugshot is still posted online, despite the charges being dropped\. ©2026 Cox Media Group