HILLIARD, Fla. – One man said his reputation was ruined and he is now homeless after he was arrested in a string of arson fires to vehicles and homes between February and May 2013.
After sitting in jail for 10 months, Ryan Wilson was acquitted by a Nassau County jury in May in just four minutes.
Wilson described the past few months of his life as a nightmare. In fact, he no longer lives at his home in Hilliard. He's since moved into a family's home in Georgia as he tries to get back on his feet.
Wilson said he's not mad at the Nassau County Sheriff's Office, but he is upset at the legal system, and he wants some kind of restitution.
"I lost everything. My family, my home," Wilson said. "I'm homeless now from this incident, and the only thing Nassau County could do to act like they want to sweep it under the rug is open the door on May 12, 2014 (and) tell me I was acquitted on charges."
Wilson has spent the last few months trying to pick up the pieces of what his life was. In July of last year, Wilson was arrested in connection with a string of arson fires to vehicles and homes at an apartment complex in Hilliard.
His ex-girlfriend was a chief accuser in the case, and this is just some of what she told investigators: "He told me that he set the lady's car on fire, the one he got into the wreck with, but he never admitted to the other fires."
"She told me these words," Wilson said. "'Since you don't want to be with me anymore, and you feel like you can do me any kind of way, I'm going to make it hard on you. I'm going to go to police and make up something on you.'"
The jury found that Wilson's ex-girlfriend wrongfully identified him out of spite and a desire for the reward offered in the case.
And within just minutes of deliberation, he was found not guilty of three counts of arson and two counts of burglary.
On May 12, Wilson was freed by the Nassau County Sheriff's Office, but Wilson said he no longer has real freedom.
"How could someone just take and ruin someone's life under false accusations and walk free," Wilson said. "I need answers. ... It took my whole life, all my life savings. I'm homeless. I'm starting all over."
Professor Rod Sullivan of Florida Coastal School of Law said it's up to the prosecutor to decide if there is sufficient evidence to convict someone who lies under oath. But that's not easy.
"And that's often the problem. It's not that the prosecutor doesn't disagree that they're giving a false statement, but can they prove that beyond a reasonable doubt? And that's a very difficult burden to reach," Sullivan said. "There are criminal ramifications. Just giving a false statement of a crime to a police officer is a misdemeanor in the first degree. However, if that conversation is recorded by a police officer or put in writing or made in front of multiple investigators, it then goes up to a third-degree felony, which is up to five years in jail. And if you testify falsely on the stand, it can be another third-degree felony (which is) five years in jail."
While he was in jail, Wilson lost more than his possessions. His health also declined.
"I'm a glaucoma patient. I'm legally blind in my left eye for not having treatments on my eyes," Wilson said. "I've had two shoulder surgeries. My shoulder has frozen. So it's been rough on me."
And he said he's now lost all faith in the justice system.
"It took four minutes for a jury to acquit me, and it's just sad to know that the legal system ... I feel like it failed me," Wilson said. "It really hurts."
Wilson's bond was more than $90,000, which made it difficult for him to even attempt to get out of jail.
Sullivan said he's seen cases like Wilson's far too many times: someone accused of a crime, placed in jail, unable to make bond until they have a trial.
"A lot of times, if you're falsely accused of a crime, your life can be ruined and there's not much you can do about it," Sullivan warned. "Your life can be ruined by a false statement like that, so the answer to your question is yes, you're at risk -- everybody is at risk."
Sullivan emphasized the need to have a defense attorney even during the investigative stage of a case, because an attorney can assemble all the other evidence that could help prove if accusations are false.
Now, Wilson is looking for any legal representation to help him begin filing a civil lawsuit against the woman who helped land him in jail and the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.