VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Months after being mistakenly arrested on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Jacqueline A. Smith had her charge expunged Tuesday.

Smith, who now lives out of state, had to fly back to Virginia to appear for the expungement hearing, as she, her attorney Niki Bailey and Virginia Beach Police Officer Kaleb Brewer appeared before Virginia General District Court Judge Paul D. Merullo.

Bailey shared a brief summary of a “mistaken identity” arrest on Feb. 17, 2024, stating U.S. Navy police and the Virginia Beach police arrested Smith for an extradition warrant out of Baltimore.

However, the two women have a different middle name and a different birthdate by three years. Smith was arrested and jailed through the weekend before her family was able to prove there was a mix-up with the two identities. Smith was later released on a $5 bond.

Merullo granted the expungement order.

However, Smith and Bailey are concerned that the two identities are blurred through court documents with the wrong middle name, social security number and fingerprints.

“Today, our petition for expungement was granted,” Bailey said. “I did have a separate order that I wanted the court to enter because we were concerned about the way the fingerprinting was done and the way the identifiers were placed. But the court assured us that all of the prior fingerprint cards will be destroyed and the new fingerprint card with Jacqueline Alcita’s correct information will be the one that’s put in the national database.”

Expungement cases are “rare,” yet Bailey explains this is a “unique” case, saying “this should have never happened” and “they didn’t just undo the wrong that they’ve created. She’s had to undergo tons of inconvenience, to say the least, not to mention the trauma that this has caused.”

Smith is a Navy wife and mother of two who was recently assigned to another military base. Smith and her months-old baby had to travel back to the Commonwealth for two court hearings.

“I just don’t feel comfortable being in Virginia Beach,” Smith said. “It’s definitely taking a toll [on me]. It is taking away from my family, … my responsibilities as a wife and a business owner. Just traveling back and forth is really just exhausting.

“We won’t discuss the mis-identity. We won’t discuss … who played what role in this. It is just more so — we’re here for extradition, we’re here for expungement. We don’t talk about actual facts.”

Smith is worried about her professional career, as she plans to attend college in the fall to pursue a nursing degree. She is also worried about any other background checks or run-ins with law enforcement.

“It’s very important because it happened once in Virginia Beach, [and it] doesn’t mean that it couldn’t happen again in any other city or state,” Bailey said. “It is very concerning for us to be sure that her paperwork is cleared as soon as possible so that this doesn’t happen anywhere else.”

Bailey is frustrated with how the police and the sheriff’s office handled Smith.

“It’s the agencies and the organizations that really should come forth and apologize to Mrs. Smith,” Bailey said. “Not try and blame her for having an ‘alias’ or some other good faith effort, then to come to court today and have not one word to say when asked by the court, which means that we were completely 100% in the right.”

Bailey advised Smith to pursue civil legal actions.

“She does have that right,” Bailey said.

Smith is hopeful local law enforcement will implement additional policies to prevent this from happening to women of color in the future.

“God does use you in different ways,” Smith said. “Hopefully, Virginia Beach can look at its policies and procedures as to why this happened to me. I just hope that it does bring about some kind of change, although that hasn’t been a discussion.”

Smith will be in court later this month for a speeding traffic violation on May 17.

The Virginia Beach NAACP is continuing its investigating in this case, citing “inconsistencies in the information shared by the Virginia Beach Police Department” following a meeting with the police chief.

NewsNation affiliate WAVY has requested an interview with law enforcement officials, but has not yet been granted one.

It is unclear if the court documents and records obtained by WAVY will be corrected. The documents still show the wrong middle name.

“This was not an alias,” Bailey said. “This was a completely mistaken identity. Two completely different persons with information that was available to law enforcement that would have distinguished them much sooner. They should change their policy to make sure that everyone does their job right the first time and every time.”