DEA To Release Man Mistaken For Drug Dealer, Jailed For 2 Weeks
DOWNEY (CBSLA.com) — Authorities are releasing a Downey man they admit to accidentally jailing for two weeks when they mistook him for a drug dealer.
Gerber Guzman's wife claims it's the second time he's been locked up at the L.A. County Jail when he hasn't done anything wrong.
After Guzman's April 27 arrest, Yanira Hernandez tried for more than a week to get him released. The Drug Enforcement Agency responded once CBS2/KCAL9 got involved a couple days ago.
Hernandez said her Guzman's identity was stolen six years ago, and that an arrest warrant was mistakenly issued for his arrest.
She says her husband spent 16 days in L.A. County Jail on drug-related charges before his name was cleared, with the help of U.S. Marshals.
This month, he was pulled over for an expired car registration and arrested on an outstanding warrant.
"The thing is that they know it's not him, but they still have him in there, and that's what's heartbreaking," said Hernandez, who is eight months pregnant.
"They told us it wasn't going to happen again, and fast-forward six years later, it happened again," Hernandez said.
CBS2/KCAL9 contacted the U.S. Marshals Office and the DEA to see why Guzman was being held.
The DEA confirmed Wednesday that they issued the warrant and said in a statement: "DEA is aware of claims that the man in custody is not the same person for whom the arrest warrant was issued. DEA takes all allegations of this nature seriously and is currently using ever resource at our disposal to address the matter."
Authorities told Hernandez her husband would be released Thursday night.
"I'm happy. I'm just mad it took 11 days for them to finally get something, which is a long time, but I'm glad the process is going," Hernandez said. "The sooner he's out the better for this family."
