JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The charges against a Jacksonville woman who was accused of shooting a police officer during a high-risk search warrant in 2020 have been dropped because the case involved a Nassau County detective who has since been indicted on drug charges.
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The drug raid that happened just before 8 a.m. at a house not far from Ribault High School was set up by former Nassau County Sheriff’s Office Detective James Hickox. He and former Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joshua Earrey are now both under federal indictment on drug charges. The two were both on the same DEA task force.
Diamonds Ford and her fiancé, Anthony Gantt, were arrested after a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office SWAT team member was injured by a bullet that came from a gun Ford shot through a window. The officer survived thanks to a protective vest and Gantt and Ford were charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
“I’m very just grateful,” Ford said during a Wednesday evening news conference. “It’s been hell. It’s been very hard trying to keep everything afloat knowing that I couldn’t work as a pharmacy technician due to my charges. I’ve experienced constantly looking for jobs and they constantly denied me because of my background because of these charges.”
The charges against Gantt have also been dropped.
According to the Department of Justice, Hickox was stealing drugs and cash and Earrey was helping him and using prescription drugs for his back pain. Because of the involvement of the two investigators in the raid, the State Attorney’s Office (SAO) said the case is tainted beyond repair, and it “no longer has a reasonable probability of obtaining a conviction in these cases.”
In the disposition dropping the charges against the couple, the SAO said Hickox used a confidential source to make a series of undercover buys at the house on Rutledge Pearson Drive and set up the drug raid with the help of JSO SWAT.
“Given the nature of the charges, Earrey and Hickox are no longer available as state witnesses. More importantly, the allegations against Earrey and Hickox raise significant questions about the events leading up to the execution of the search warrant that led to the shooting,” the disposition states.
The SAO said, “the state has no means other than Hickox to authenticate the actual drugs that were purchased. As such, the state is unable to establish that the home was being utilized for the purpose of selling drugs.”
The SAO said if the case went to trial, a defense motion for direct acquittal would be granted.
The investigation into Hickox started in August when a long-time felon arrested by Homeland Security on drug-related charges said Hickox and another law enforcement officer would steal drugs seized in investigations and give them to informants to sell with the understanding they would receive a cut of the proceeds.
Hickox is facing up to 40 years in prison if convicted and Earrey is facing up to 10 years if convicted -- that’s if additional charges aren’t brought.
Following the shooting, Ford proclaimed her innocence and said a 911 call made during the raid proved she thought someone was robbing her home and coming to harm her. People from around the country raised over $500,000 to bail her out of jail while she awaited trial.
Then-Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams said that the SWAT team announced from a loudspeaker it would be serving the narcotics warrant, and during the execution of the warrant, several shots were fired from inside the house.
Attorneys for Ford said they plan to solicit the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to have her charge sealed and or expunged because she was found innocent by all meanings of the law.
“Let’s be clear, what I want everyone to be clear about is why we’re here today. And what we’re here for is because of the complete vindication of Ms. Ford, this is not about anyone else. This is about Ms. Ford and Anthony Gantt’s vindication for the charges that they were facing,” attorney Stephen Kelly said.