A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office gang-unit officer who has found himself at the center of repeated controversy, including two fatal shootings, was arrested Friday by federal agents for allegedly coercing an underage teenager into sending nude photographs and performing sexual acts.
This is the second time Josue Garriga III was arrested for what he was accused of doing to a girl he met at church.
He was first arrested in March by Clay County deputies and charged with unlawful sexual activity with certain minors, lewd touching of certain minors, travel to meet a minor for unlawful sexual activity, transmission of harmful material to a minor and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. According to News4Jax, Garriga bonded out of jail.
On Friday, federal agents filed new charges against Garriga for coercion and enticement. The federal complaint details the accusations against Garriga, including that he forced himself on the 17-year-old girl, sent unsolicited nude photographs and refused to let her leave his car until she performed a sexual act.
The girl told investigators that Garriga would try to make her feel bad or would get mad if she told him not to touch her, according to the complaint.
Out of respect for the teenager, The Tributary has chosen to exclude some of the more explicit details of the allegations and some of the identifying features of the child.
This is not the first time Garriga’s name has made headlines.
In 2015, he was one of several Putnam County detectives who fired at and killed Andrew Williams, 48.
Later, after joining the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Garriga killed a Black FAMU student during a traffic stop. The State Attorney’s Office cleared the shooting as reasonable, but Jamee Johnson’s family settled a lawsuit for $200,000 over the death last year.
Sheriff T.K. Waters criticized that settlement and successfully pushed for new city legislation that requires the city to receive approval from him and other constitutional officers before settling claims against their employees.
Waters said settling the claim against Garriga — instead of defending him at trial — had negatively affected JSO’s reputation.
Garriga, who was a member of the gang unit and identifies as Black and Hispanic, was also part of a group chat called “P—y A– Crackers” where he and others had stereotyped Black people and made one Black officer so uncomfortable he sought counseling from his pastor, according to an internal JSO investigation. Stories by First Coast News and News4Jax sparked that investigation.
Then, in August 2023, camera footage captured Garriga repeatedly kicking, punching and kneeing 24-year-old Le’keian Woods during an arrest. The footage showed Garriga hitting Woods at least 17 times.
But before that, in February, Garriga began texting a teenage girl whom he said he met at church. He asked her to share her location, told her to share photos of herself with him and made sexually explicit remarks.
Though the WhatsApp messages on the girl’s phone had been deleted, investigators were able to uncover the notifications, which showed the messages he sent her.
Garriga, who resigned from JSO after his arrest, complained to the girl that he went from seeing her face and body every day on FaceTime to “just nothing.” In another message, he complimented how she looked at church and asked what her homework was.
Detectives also found a note on the girl’s phone that detailed sexual activity, including while they were working together at church.
When investigators talked to her, she confirmed that she and Garriga met at church and that he knew she was a minor. He started to message her on Instagram before they switched to WhatsApp, an encrypted text messaging app.
Once, in his vehicle at a public place, she tried multiple times to get out, but he grabbed her hands and put them down his pants. When she tried to get out, he reached over and closed the door.
He didn’t let her leave until she performed a sexual act.
When Garriga talked to investigators, he admitted he asked the girl for photos but denied they were inappropriate. He also admitted to going to her house at nighttime and acknowledged he would ask her about when she would shower, but only to know when they would talk on the phone. He denied having any physical contact other than a hug.
He admitted they were alone inside his truck, but he told investigators they were there “just, just to talk. Like I don’t know.”
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Nichole Manna is The Tributary’s criminal justice reporter. You can reach her at nichole.manna@jaxtrib.org or on Twitter at @NicholeManna.