‘My Whole Life, I’ve Been Trying to Just Stay Out of Trouble’: Two Illinois Brothers Were Wrongly Arrested, Held 33 Days In Miami Beach

Two Illinois brothers now have arrest records after they were in jail for 33 days although no charges were filed against them.

Miami Beach police took 20-year-old Carl McNickles and 18-year-old Shyquawn McNickles into custody last month within hours after they arrived in Miami Beach for Shyquawn’s birthday. Police officials said the pair were arrested in connection with two armed robberies that took place just hours before.

“The police pull up, guns out; told us if we move, they were going to shoot us,” Shyquawn told CBS 2. The brothers from Lansing, Illinois, had lef their father, also named Carl McNickles to celebrate Shyquawn’s birthday with friends. A police report says at around 3 a.m., a sergeant reported that he saw four or five men matching the description of the suspects in front of the Kent Hotel. Once police approached, Shyquawn initially ran on foot but then returned when officers gave him a verbal command to do so.

Carl’s girlfriend called his father and told him his sons had been arrested. The family pleaded with police, saying the brothers, whom don’t have a criminal record, weren’t the suspects police were looking for. Shyquawn is a high school student and Carl is a student at William Penn University who plays football and wrestled at the college on an athletic scholarship. However, due to the arrest record he lost the financial help, the family says. The younger Carl said he’s spent his life trying to avoid the situation he found himself in.

“My whole life, I’ve been trying to just stay out of trouble — like nothing at all involving police — and then this happens,” he said. The brothers were then held in jail for 33 days, which is the maximum amount of time someone can be kept in jail in Florida without charges being filed.

Tony Moss, the family’s attorney, says the brothers’ clothing didn’t match the description of the suspects, which said the robbers, had stolen a woman’s purse at gunpoint, were “five Black males, wearing all black clothing, with black ski masks covering their faces.” The brothers were wearing clothes including rainbow Crocs and a red T-shirt.