JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A yearlong criminal investigation of the Clay County Sheriff will be referred to a second prosecutor’s office, First Coast News has learned.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to reassign the investigation to another prosecutor because one of her employees is named as a witness, posing a potential conflict.
The preliminary report was presented to Nelson’s office by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement last week.
FDLE opened the investigation at the request of Nelson's office after Sheriff Darryl Daniels had his mistress, Cierra Smith, arrested in May of 2019. Daniels had been having an affair with Smith for several years, a relationship that began when Daniels was Director of the Duval County Jail and Smith was a correctional officer.
Smith was stripped of her duties by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office during an internal investigation that included allegations she had sex with Daniels while at work. That allegation was not substantiated, but other misconduct claims were, and Smith no longer works for JSO.
The fact that FDLE’s case was presented to prosecutors at all instead of simply being released by FDLE suggests there are a least some criminally prosecutable findings for prosecutors to review.
It is not clear what the timeline for that review will be. The primary election in Clay County is Aug. 18. Early voting runs Aug. 6 through Aug. 15.
Daniels faces six challengers including Atlantic Beach Police Chief Michelle Cook, former Clay County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management Director Ben Carroll, former FDLE agent Mike Taylor, as well as former Clay County Commissioner and retired Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Harold Rutledge.
This full letter from Melissa Nelson can be read below:
Dear Governor DeSantis,
In May of 2019, the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit (“SAO”) contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Office of Executive Investigations (“FDLE”) regarding the May 6, 2019, arrest of Cierra Smith (“Smith”) for stalking by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (“CCSO”). FDLE was contacted in response to allegations made by Smith at the time of her arrest, that Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels (“Sheriff Daniels”) had used his position as Sheriff to illegally order a Clay County Sergeant to arrest Smith, with whom Sheriff Daniels had an ongoing extramarital relationship.
The SAO contacted FDLE regarding Smith’s allegations of official misconduct by Sheriff Daniels, and requested that FDLE conduct an investigation related to Smith’s allegations. This request was predicated on the clear conflict of interest that would exist if CCSO attempted to handle an investigation involving the head of their own law enforcement agency.
FDLE’s investigation lasted over a year and was just completed. FDLE has provided the SAO with its Investigative Summary reports, which have been reviewed by this office. In reviewing these reports, it has now become clear that if a formal prosecution were to be instituted against Sheriff Daniels, that assistant state attorneys currently employed by this office would be required to not only be listed as state witnesses, but ultimately could be called as witnesses at trial.
While it has always been my intent for this office to fulfill our legal obligation to pursue a criminal prosecution if warranted, it is now clear that a conflict of interest would exist if this Office were to institute a prosecution wherein assistant state attorneys currently working in this office, were also called as state witnesses at trial. Due to this conflict of interest and in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety, I am requesting that this investigation be reassigned to another judicial circuit for handling.
Although FDLE’s investigation has been concluded, no decision has been made whether the evidence warrants an arrest and/or criminal prosecution. However, because this investigation involves a matter of great public importance, there is urgency for the reassignment to another judicial circuit.
Sincerely,
Melissa W. Nelson
MWN/mmn