LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Last week, police shared information with the media that a man was arrested in Lexington for a Texas murder using Flock License Plate Reader cameras. We have since learned that police arrested the wrong man.
Mashni Law Criminal Defense says Javier Manriquez was wrongfully accused by Lexington police and local media as being Nicholas Trujillo-Ruiz. Ruiz was wanted in connection with a 1980 Texas murder case.
According to Lexington police, they arrested a man, later identified to be Manriquez, after receiving a shots fired call on Camelot Drive on April 10. They used the Flock cameras to match a vehicle description and the home.
Once police arrived at the home, Manriquez showed officers an identification card with the name Nicholas Trujillo-Ruiz on it.
"The photograph on the I.D. resembled a younger version of the individual that presented it to officers," Lexington police said in a news release.
When police ran the I.D. through the NCIC database, they learned Trujillo-Ruiz was wanted for a 1980 murder out of Texas. Police say the warrant had the exact date of birth as the I.D. given to officers. The man also matched the physical description on the warrant, according to police.
The law firm stepped in and conducted an investigation to correctly identify Manriquez and determined police arrested the wrong man. They learned Trujillo-Ruiz died several years ago.
"The case against Mr. Manriquez was promptly resolved in Fayette District Court [Wednesday] morning, but the reputation harm remains," said Abe Mashni, Principal Attorney for Mashni Law Criminal Defense in a statement.
In a news release sent out by Lexington police on Thursday, they say officers worked for 20 minutes to determine if Manriquez was the same person who had a warrant out for his arrest.
"During the investigation, the individual and family members did not provide officers with a different name nor state that the I.D. presented was false," police say. "Officers asked for any other identification from the individual, but no one could not provide another form of identification."
When Manriquez was detained, police explained to him that there was a warrant for a murder in Texas for a person with the same name and date of birth as his identification.
According to police, Manriquez told officers that he had moved from Texas about 25 years prior but didn't tell officers his real name or admit that the I.D. was not his.
"The individual’s fingerprints were not located in the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) so they were unable to be used to confirm nor deny his true identity," according to police.
Lexington police say Manriquez was arrested for the warrant but would not have been arrested if he was truthful and didn't provide officers with a false identification.
"The Flock license plate readers did not locate nor identify this individual as a wanted person," police clarify. "The LPRs provided officers an immediate investigative lead to further the shots fired call."
The investigation into the initial shots fired call is still open.
