[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 03/06/21]
TAVARES, Florida — A Lake County Detention Center corrections officer is facing a battery charge and will likely lose her job after her coworker turned her in for slapping a handcuffed inmate on Jan. 21.
Alicia Ann Hathaway, 27, is accused of slapping a female inmate in the face after the inmate cursed at her, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Herrell said in a press release. The inmate was handcuffed at the time.
“The Lake County Sheriff’s Office initiated a criminal investigation into the actions of Officer Alicia Hathaway after another correctional officer promptly reported the incident,” Herrell stated in the release.
After its investigation, LCSO turned over its findings to Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson’s office for review. A warrant was issued for Hathaway’s arrest on Friday; later that day, she was booked into the same jail she worked at and released on $1,000 bond.
Hathaway, who has been employed at the jail since 2016, has no previous disciplinary actions and LCSO has started termination proceedings due to this incident.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
