JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrests of two now-former employees.
They include a corrections officer facing battery charges and a police officer who now faces grand theft and official misconduct charges.
Former JSO Corrections Officer Taaron Clayton and JSO Police Officer Nicholas Hicks are both facing charges and are no longer with the agency.
“As we have said and the sheriff has said many times before, no one is above the law,” JSO Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey said.
Clayton is accused of exposing his genitals to a victim and grabbing them by the waist.
According to his arrest report, the incident occurred at the pre-trial detention facility on December 27.
He faces a misdemeanor simple battery charge and was fired upon his arrest on December 30.
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JSO explained that because the incident did not occur in a public place, it didn’t meet the statutory requirements for an exposure charge.
“That’s what the statutes allow for,” Coursey said.
Hicks, who worked for the agency for ten years, is accused of two felonies, grand theft and official misconduct.
Both charges stem from Hicks allegedly failing to render security services he’d been hired to provide at a local hospital.
Between June and December of last year, Hicks allegedly left his post at the hospital for a combined 52 hours and collected more than $2,600 for that time.
Hicks also had a secondary employment complaint against him sustained back in 2023.
He was issued informal counseling for that violation.
Hicks resigned upon his arrest on Tuesday.
Hicks’ arrest is the first arrest of a JSO employee by the agency this year, while Clayton’s arrest was the seventh of 2025.
“If investigators find that there was probable cause to support a criminal allegation of a JSO employee after a comprehensive investigation, this agency will hold that employee accountable,” Coursey said.
Hicks’ bond was set at just over $5,000.
Meanwhile, Clayton’s bond was set at just over $20,000.
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