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St. Louis man spends week in jail for crimes he did not commit

Now, he and his family want an apology and justice.

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis man wants police to admit their mistakes after putting him in jail for crimes he did not commit.

Ronald Gavin was accused of multiple robberies in St. Louis County and police said they had multiple witnesses that identified him as the suspect.

But, he had the paperwork to prove it wasn’t him.

"I have no criminal record at all,” Gavin said. “Not even a traffic ticket and they tried to throw away the keys on me."

Last week, Gavin said he was on his way home from a night out when the St. Ann Police Department pulled him over for expired tags.

"I wasn't expecting nothing, but a routine traffic stop for expired tags,” Gavin said.

But, the routine stop turned into a fight for his freedom.

Gavin learned he was wanted for two robberies that occurred in late October in St. Louis County and one in Florissant.

Police in Florissant picked him up and questioned him.

Officers eventually let him go with no charges. Yet, his fight continued.

"I did not have control of my life anymore," Gavin said.

St. Louis County Police arrested him and put him in jail for another robbery at a Family Dollar.

Gavin was booked in the county jail on Nov. 12. He was accused of holding workers at gun point after the store closed, before taking off.

Gavin faced multiple felony charges, including felony kidnapping. He was charged with two counts of felony kidnapping, two counts of felony robbery and two counts of armed criminal action.

"We are like oh my god, are they kidding me,” his grandmother Karon Hebron said. “We could never could figure out kidnapping."

"It broke my heart because me as a mother, it was nothing I could do,” said Rita Potts, Gavin’s mother.

The police report claimed the robbery happened during closing time. Family Dollar closed at 10 p.m.

But, Gavin had a time sheet showing he worked from 7a.m. until 11 p.m. Gavin, who drives for Nabisco in Earth City, said his job vouched for him when detectives came to question his co-workers and bosses.

"I know Ron didn’t do this,” Gavin said, referring to what his manager told police. “Ron is not that type of guy.”

The St. Louis County prosecutor's office said Gavin's charges were dismissed because of his alibi. After a week in jail, he was released on Thursday. Now, he and his family want an apology and justice.

"Not only did you embarrass my son, but you embarrassed me,” Potts said. “You embarrassed our family.”

5 On Your Side reached out to both St. Louis County Police and Florissant Police. The departments declined to do an interview or comment on the matter because the investigation is on-going.

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