SJC sergeant jailed in child custody case

Catherine Payne booked into Nassau County jail

YULEE, Fla. – A St. Johns County Sheriff's Office sergeant arrested Tuesday night in Nassau County on a charge of interference with child custody of a minor made her first appearance in court Wednesday morning.

Sgt. Catherine Payne, 37, a former public information officer with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, was taken into custody by the Fernandina Beach Police Department after an Amber Alert was briefly issued for Payne's 6-year-old son, Reid.

Police found Reid safely, having dinner with his mother at a downtown Fernandina Beach restaurant around 7:50 p.m., after the alert was issued. Reid has been released into the custody of his father, who is a Florida Highway Patrol trooper.

Payne was booked into the Nassau County jail early Wednesday morning and ordered held on $5,000 bond.

Payne and Reid's father are going through a civil court issue, and Payne does not have custody of Reid. According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, Payne picked Reid up from school in St. Augustine without permission on Tuesday afternoon.

School officials quickly contacted the father, who has full custody, and he, in turn, notified the Sheriff's Office, deputies said.

Deputies said they began an extensive search throughout the county but were unable to locate either Payne or her child. After four hours had passed without contact, the child's safety became a concern and an Amber Alert was issued statewide, deputies said.

A spokesman for the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said Amber Alerts typically are not issued in custody disputes because police can usually reach the parent in question to resolve any issues. The spokesperson said when they hadn't reached Payne after a few hours to clear up the issue, the alert was automatically issued.

Payne posted a status update on Facebook about where she was and what she was doing. Someone saw it and contacted law enforcement, who took her into custody without incident, a SJCSO spokesperson said.

The child was reunited with his father and Payne was arrested on a charge of interference with child custody of a minor. She was booked into the Nassau County jail on $5,000 bond.

In court Wednesday morning, Payne's lawyer said the issue is part of an ongoing dissolution of marriage case, but had no additional comment. The Nassau County judge ordered Payne be transferred to the St. Johns County jail. There was a discussion of her being released with a GPS ankle monitor, but that would be up to the St. Johns County judge.

The FHP, where Reid Payne's father works, issued this statement Tuesday night: "This is a personal matter, and it's being handled appropriately through the courts."

Payne has been on administrative leave from the SJCSO for a couple months and does not currently have police powers. According to a recent Facebook post, Payne started a public relations firm called Positive Influence on Oct. 18 in St. Augustine.

Payne was Baker Acted twice in August.

In September, Payne's husband, Phillip Payne, was given sole custody of the child.

According to the child custody court order, at 4 a.m. Aug. 28, Payne was putting beer bottles in neighbors' flower pots. She also tried to climb onto a fire truck and was babbling, not speaking in full sentences.

Payne was taken to Flagler Hospital and Baker Acted. She told hospital workers she was going to have a baby, which was false, according to the order.

Payne was release on Aug. 29, traveled to friend's house in Osceola and started acting strange, according to the order. The Osceola County Sheriff's Office Baker Acted her, saying she became a threat to herself, according to the order.

On Sept. 3, Payne went to her son's school and took him home at the end of the day, according to the order, prompting her husband to request supervised visits.

Payne was considered mentally unstable and unable to care for her child without supervision, according to the court order.

"She understands custody orders and she knows not to pick up the child from the school, so that may be, I'm just speculating, that may be why she picked the child up while they were releasing and the child was in the bus area," said News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith. "All the school personnel may not be aware of the custody order."

The SJCSO will conduct an internal investigation to see if Payne purposely violated a court order regarding Reid's custody. Once that is determined, proper consequences, if any, will be administered, according to the Sheriff's Office.

In Payne's annual evaluations, she met the standard in everything. She had no previous discipline and had dozens of accolades from citizens and people within the Sheriff's Office.