A Jasper woman, who made national news in 2013 after an incident in the Jasper City Jail, and later received a $75,000.00 out of court settlement from the City of Jasper, was arrested by Jasper Police on Thursday afternoon after she was accused of shoplifting.
According to reports filed by Sargent Gary Pullen and Officer Lawson Dry, they responded shortly after 3:00 to the WalMart Super Center at 800 West Gibson Street when store security personnel detained 26-year-old Keyarika Diggles. The reports said Diggles was accused of trying to leave the store with approximately $31.00 worth of baby formula without paying for the items.
Officer Dry noted in his report that the case, which would normally be a Class C misdemeanor, was enhanced to Class B because Diggles has a previous conviction for theft.
Diggles appeared before Municipal Judge Robert Jackson on Thursday evening and was charged with theft. Diggles' bond was set at $3,500.00, and she was later released after making arrangements to post bail.
In May of 2013, security cameras in the Jasper City Jail captured video of two officers roughing up Diggles after she was uncooperative with them. The officers were later terminated, and the city settled a lawsuit filed by Diggles.
Diggles has had brushes with the law both before and after the incident in the City Jail, and she’s currently under indictment for a felony crime.
~ On May 24th, 2013, she was arrested by Jasper Police on a charge of theft.
~ In March OF 2014, she was indicted by the Jasper County Grand Jury on a felony charge of forgery of a financial instrument.
~ On May 8th, 2014, she was arrested by Jasper County deputies on charges of driving without a seat belt, and also failure to appear in court on a previous criminal charge.