Josue Garriga III. | News4Jax
Published on April 19, 2024 at 2:57 pm
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A former police officer who already faces Clay County charges in a sex case involving a 17-year-old girl now faces a federal charge.
Josue Garriga III, 34, is accused of using a cellphone to coerce a minor, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Garriga resigned from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office last month before his arrest on charges that included lewd touching and transmission of harmful material to a minor.
Garriga’s new federal affidavit says investigators found inappropriate WhatsApp messages that Garriga is accused of sending to the teen in February and March.
Federal investigators interviewed the girl, who said Garriga touched her inappropriately and sent her nude images of himself, the affidavit says.
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The girl told Clay County investigators that she met Garriga at church and exchanged phone numbers, then he suggested she download the WhatsApp application on her phone so they could communicate. He used the app to send nude photos of himself to her and solicited images from her, investigators said.
In 2019, Garriga shot and killed 22-year-old Jaime Johnson during a traffic stop. An investigation by the State Attorney’s Office found the shooting to be justified.
