A JEA employee has been arrested Wednesday for public fraud and employee theft, investigators said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said that Erik Mickell Williams, 45, crashed a JEA pickup truck on Dec. 9 in the evening. Williams veered off the roadway and struck a JEA light pole.
Williams had been driving the truck after hours, which violates JEA policy. JEA's loss in the truck and light pole amounted to several thousand dollars.
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JEA investigated Williams Dec. 22 by reviewing his travel and work habits around the time of the crash. JSO said the investigation found 30 questionable entries in Williams' timesheet and overtime request records.
JSO said that Williams made personal trips while on the job, including stopping by his apartment and his "estranged wife's house."
The investigation also found that Williams was paid 14 hours for overtime at $46 an hour with no GPS data supporting that.
Officers said that JEA suffered a loss of $2,835 in payroll alone from Williams.
Williams was arrested Wednesday at his JEA office.
"Those two woman upstairs are out on a witch (hunt) to get me fired," he reportedly said.
Williams was hired as a JEA construction inspector in 2001.
JEA placed Williams on administrative leave pending the completion of the investigations.
Action News Jax stopped by Williams' home to get his side of the story, but he wasn't home, or at least he didn't come to the door.
We learned that more than 15 years ago, Williams worked as a reserve deputy for the Nassau County Sheriff's Office. Later, he was a police officer in the town of Hilliard.
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