Innocent man gets $975K payout after he’s mistakenly locked in psych hospital for years
Spriestersbach, who has schizophrenia, was sleeping on the street at the time of his arrest. AP
Posted For: MugsMalone
An innocent man has been awarded a $975,000 settlement after he was wrongfully arrested and confined in a Hawaii psychiatric hospital for years.
Joshua Spriestersbach, who was homeless at the time, was placed in a psychiatric ward after police arrested him for drug crimes committed by another man named Thomas Castleberry in 2017, according to court records.
The mistaken identity dates back several years earlier when Spriestersbach, now 54, was found sleeping at Kawananakoa Middle School in the Punchbowl area. When officers questioned him, he gave the wrong name. Spriestersbach, who has schizophrenia, would not provide a first name but gave his grandfather’s last name, Castleberry.
After checking the name, an officer discovered an outstanding 2009 warrant for Thomas Castleberry, who was wanted on multiple drug charges.
Spriestersbach was arrested but later failed to appear in court.
Years later, police again encountered Spriestersbach outside the Safe Haven shelter in Chinatown and arrested him on the outstanding warrant after Castleberry’s name appeared as one of his aliases.
Despite repeatedly insisting he was not Castleberry, Spriestersbach spent four months at the Oʻahu Community Correctional Center and more than two years at the Hawaii State Hospital before he was finally released in January 2020.
A lawsuit filed on his behalf states that no one acted on available information to verify his identity before that time.
“Prior to January 2020, not a single person acted on the available information to determine that Joshua was telling the truth — that he was not Thomas R. Castleberry,” the lawsuit says. “Instead, they determined that Joshua was delusional and incompetent simply because he refused to admit that he was Thomas R. Castleberry and refused to acknowledge Thomas R. Castleberry’s crimes.”
The Honolulu City Council approved the $975,000 settlement for Spriestersbach during a meeting last week.
He may also receive a separate $200,000 settlement from the state to resolve legal claims against Hawaii’s public defender’s office.
Hawaii police and the mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
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