JESSAMINE COUNTY, KY (LEX NEWS) - A Kentucky pharmacist says she was arrested, jailed, and continues to face misdemeanor charges months after a clerical error linked her identity to a man with a criminal record.
Dr. Shelby Dela Cruz said she was pulled over by a Jessamine County sheriff's deputy on May 30 while driving to work. The traffic stop was captured on the deputy's body camera. Dela Cruz said the deputy told her she was driving too fast for conditions before informing her that her driver's license was suspended.
"You know you're suspended, right?" the deputy asked during the stop.
Dela Cruz, visibly confused, responded that she was a pharmacist and needed to call someone to open her workplace.
According to body camera footage and dispatch radio traffic, records returned through a law enforcement database showed Dela Cruz had a suspended license and a history of prior suspension-related offenses. Dela Cruz said she was "hysterically crying" and asked officers to run her Social Security number again because she believed there had been a mistake.
During the stop, dispatch advised that her driver's status showed as suspended and referenced prior suspension-related entries. Dela Cruz repeatedly told the deputy she had never been arrested.
Despite her objections, Dela Cruz was taken into custody.
"I was booked, jailed, fingerprinted," she said.
Authorities told her she had outstanding arrestable charges for operating on a suspended or revoked license and failing to surrender her license. She was also charged with driving too fast for traffic conditions and failure to produce an insurance card.
Dela Cruz said the allegations made no sense because records indicated the suspension originated in Carter County, a place she said she had never visited.
Investigating further, Dela Cruz discovered what she says was the source of the problem: a one-digit error in a Social Security number that linked her identity to Steven Ludwig, a man currently incarcerated.
"I called the DMV and they had suspended my license instead of Steven Ludwig's," Dela Cruz said. "All of Steven Ludwig's charges were put under my name."
A Carter County Circuit Court judge later ruled that clerical errors caused the mix-up. In a court order, the judge noted that Dela Cruz and Ludwig share the same birth date and have nearly identical Social Security numbers. The order directed Kentucky State Police to immediately correct the records as well as the Carter County Circuit Clerk's Office.
Despite the ruling, Dela Cruz said the legal case in Jessamine County remains unresolved. She says she has appeared in court at least five times since June.
"Every time I go, the prosecutor asks me to stipulate probable cause," Dela Cruz said. "It's holding up my case, and I tell her no."
Dela Cruz says the arrest has had lasting consequences on both her personal and professional life. As a pharmacy manager licensed in multiple states, she said she has had to report the arrest to pharmacy boards and her employer, creating concerns about her professional standing.
"This all could have been prevented if they would have at least dismissed the misdemeanors that were not mine," she said.
LEX News asked the Jessamine County Attorney's Office why Dela Cruz continues to face the charges despite the court order identifying a clerical error. The county attorney Anna Roberts-Smith said she could not comment extensively on a pending case but told LEX News she has attempted to resolve the matter in court.
Dela Cruz's next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 29.
"It's really affected my life, my professional career, my mental health, my children's school," Dela Cruz said. "It's just devastating."
