Handyman jailed for 90 days after drywall dust mistaken for cocaine
OVIEDO, Fla. – A Florida handyman spent 3 months in jail for a crime he didn't commit.
When police stopped Karlos Cashe for driving without lights, officers found what they believed to be marijuana and a white powder on his front seat they thought might be cocaine.
A field test came back positive.
Police video of the arrest shows officers searching his phone case.
"I don’t know if he does drywall work or something, but there is white stuff all in that case," one officer can be heard saying in video obtained by WFTV. "What we found so far ain’t drywall."
A K-9 unit at the scene also alerted on Cashe's car. Police ended up arresting Cashe and booking him at the Seminole County Jail after a search of his name showed he was on probation in connection with marijuana and cocaine charges dating back to 2015.
What officers didn't know, however was that a lab would later confirm that the white powder was indeed just drywall dust. Cashe wasn't allowed to post bond because of the alleged probation violation.
"I sat there 90 days knowing I was innocent," Cashe told WFTV.
Oviedo Police Department Lt. Heather Capetillo told reporters that they're currently reviewing the use of the field drug testing kits, made by The Safariland Group.
The same kits were used in a false positive that sent a man to jail for alleged meth possession. The "meth" in that case turned out to be Krispy Kreme doughnut glaze, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Finally free, Cashe says he wants police to investigate what led to an innocent man sitting in a jail cell for 90 days.