After a jury acquitted former Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels of lying to law enforcement and destroying evidence, Daniels issued a statement calling his arrest and prosecution an abuse of power.
“The abuse and overreach that I have had to endure over the past three years is an example of what happens when sectors of our government go unchecked,” he said in the statement. “If this abuse of power by government entities can happen to a duly elected sheriff, then it can happen to anyone.”
A four-women, two-men panel declared Daniels not guilty of destroying evidence, tampering with evidence and five counts of lying to law enforcement after a three-day trial in Green Cove Springs.
Prosecutors claimed that while sheriff in 2019, Daniels ordered deputies to arrest his mistress: Cierra Smith, for stalking him. He was charged with lying to law enforcement about the circumstances surrounding Smith’s arrest and with destroying evidence by deleting his Google account and attempting to have his agency phone wiped clean of all files.
The case was prosecuted by the State Attorney based in Ocala and was presided over by Circuit Judge R. Lee Smith of St. Augustine because local State Attorney Melissa Nelson recused herself from the case, as did all judges in Clay County.
‘Witch hunt from the get-go’
Daniels’ lawyer Matt Kachergus told jurors during opening arguments that the state’s charges against his client only surfaced when investigators couldn’t find evidence of more serious crimes. He added that prosecutors initially declined to charge the former sheriff, but political pressure forced them to pivot.
“Cause this was a witch hunt from the get-go,” he said. “Ten days after the incident, the state attorney’s office flips this on Daniels and wants him prosecuted.”
After turning himself into deputies on Aug. 14, 2020, Daniels noted that the State Attorney filed charges against him five days before the Republican primary for his reelection.
Kachergus rested his case without calling a single witness. Daniels faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Kachergus attacked the credibility of Cierra Smith after she testified about the circumstances of her arrest.
Daniel’s ex-mistress said she and Daniels agreed to meet at an Oakleaf Village parking lot on May 6, 2019. However, when the then sheriff’s wife showed up, he told deputies that Smith had been stalking him.
Kachergus also questioned Smith’s claim that at the time of the May 9 meeting, she and Daniels were still dating. The defense lawyer used text messages to assert that Smith knew the relationship was over.
State prosecutors also called sheriff’s office IT worker Dominic Antoniello who told jurors Daniels ordered him to wipe the sheriff’s agency cellphone of all data. Sheriff’s Chief Wayne McKinney told jurors he overrode the sheriff’s instructions to Antoniello and put the phone in a safe.
Deputy Chris Ruby told jurors he arrived at the meeting between Daniels and Smith after the sheriff said over the radio that he was being followed. Ruby added that Daniels told him to arrest the woman.
Former Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams testified that Daniels called him the night of Smith’s arrest and asked Smith be taken to the Duval County Jail instead of the Clay County lockup.
“No. I told him, basically if she broke the law in Clay County, she needs to go to jail in Clay County,” Williams said.
Smith was later released, and no charges were filed against her.
In closing arguments, Kachergus said Daniels deleted the Google account and tried to have his phone wiped, not to hide evidence from an FDLE investigation but to conceal the details of his affair with Smith from his wife.
