JPSO used facial recognition technology to arrest a man. The tech was wrong.

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But a recent attempt by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office to nab a high-end purse thief via facial recognition ended badly for a Georgia man who was jailed for almost a week over a false match, his lawyer says.

A detective took the algorithm at face value to secure a warrant to arrest Randal Reid, 28, in the June theft of luxury purses from a Metairie consignment shop, attorney Tommy Calogero said.

A Baton Rouge Police Department detective then adopted JPSO’s identification of Reid to secure an arrest warrant alleging he was among three men involved in another luxury purse theft the same week at a shop on Jefferson Highway, court records show.

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Local police pulled over Reid on Nov. 25 as he drove on Interstate 20 in Dekalb County, Georgia, headed to a late Thanksgiving celebration with his mother, he said.

“They told me I had a warrant out of Jefferson Parish. I said, ‘What is Jefferson Parish?,’” Reid said. “I have never been to Louisiana a day in my life. Then they told me it was for theft. So not only have I not been to Louisiana, I also don’t steal.”

Reid was booked into the DeKalb County jail as a fugitive but was let go on Dec. 1, a jail official said. Calogero said JPSO detectives “tacitly” admitted the error and rescinded the July warrant.

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Sheriff Joe Lopinto’s office did not respond to several requests for information on Reid’s arrest and release, the agency’s use of facial recognition or any safeguards around it.

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Baton Rouge police also did not respond to questions about its warrant for Reid’s arrest.

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