JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man falsely accused of the armed robbery is declaring victory after the State Attorney's Office dropped the two misdemeanor charges against him.
In August, police said, Kenneth Myers was suspected of the robbery because someone filed a false police report and he fit the description of the wanted man.
The State Attorney's Office has dropped the two charges -- one for resisting arrest and the other for reckless driving.
But Myers told News4Jax on Thursday that's only the beginning of justice being served.
"The trauma doesn't go away. It doesn't die down or anything," he said. "Since the time it happened, it keeps replaying in my head over and over."
The charges stemmed from Myers first being wrongly accused of an armed robbery. After being held at gunpoint and arrested, police later learned Myers had nothing to do with the robbery and parts of the story were made up.
Myers' name has since been cleared as the State Attorney's Office reviewed the case and found no justification for the charges.
"At any point and time, one of those officers could've done anything," Myers said. "One false move by me, probably didn't have to make a false move, just because of the fact of who they thought I was. They thought I was an armed robbery suspect."
Myers' attorney, Rhonda Peoples-Waters, said their fight is far from over. His records have not yet been expunged and that process could be lengthy.
"Those issues may forever fall with Mr. Myers," Peoples-Waters said. "That's what we need the officers to understand. How significant of an impact their actions will have on someone's life."
Despite the fact that Myers initially requested an apology from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, he said he doesn't expect to receive one. He hopes now that others will learn from his experiences.
"Trust in God and fight because, at the moment, you can't fight. You can't fight back. Police have so much authority, if you make any type of move, then they can use any accuse to take your life," Myers said. "So my thing is don't lose hope. Don't lose hope in your situation and fight when you're able to get the chance to."
Myers, who's a business owner, said the situation has taken a lot of his time and energy. He also feared the charges would affect his sales.
Now that the charges have been dropped, Myers said, that's hopefully a step in a more positive direction.