Jury finds ex-Lauderhill officer not guilty

LAUDERHILL — A six-member jury found former Lauderhill Police officer Jamar Lee not guilty of unlawful compensation and battery Thursday in an incident with a 22-year-old homeless woman more than two years ago.

Lee was accused of soliciting sexual favors from Sierra Parrish in exchange for not arresting or detaining her after he found out she had an incorrect and expired license plate tag on her car and a suspended driver’s license in February 2020.

Lee, 29, said he hasn’t considered whether he’ll attempt to regain his job with the Lauderhill Police Department. He was fired Friday before the trial started.

“At this time right now, I just want to savor the moment, I want to take it all in,” said Lee, a three-time nominee for Lauderhill Officer of the Month. “I’ve been beyond stressed for the past few years … I just want to savor the moment, enjoy it, and I’ll think about that, follow it up, at a later time.”

An Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, Lee is married and has a child. Many of his family members were present for all three days of the trial. Lee described how difficult the past few years have been.

“Stuck. Pain. Mental breakdown,” he said. “My family, they’re all here now. I’m really happy the jury looked at all the evidence, and they were able to do the right thing.”

Defense attorney Johnny McCray said the differences were Parrish’s credibility, calling it “horrendous,” and Lee’s credibility. Lee testified Wednesday.

“She stated she was looking to get $300,00 because she was homeless and needed money,” McCray said. “But I think what really sealed the deal was his testimony.”

Lee came upon Parrish while she was in her car at a drive-thru window of a Dunkin’ Donuts on Feb. 25, 2020, attempting to get a wi-fi signal on her tablet.

Parrish was trying to contact her sister to see if she could stay at her residence. That’s where the stories diverge.

Parrish said Lee shined a flashlight under her dress and made a favorable sound while she was searching her car for her driver’s license, made sexually suggestive comments and grabbed her hand and used it to touch his crotch. Lee said he never did any of those things.

She said he drove into a dark alley while she followed in her car and that he tried to lead her to another location before she drove away in a different direction. They were looking for Parrish’s mother to take possession of the car with the expired tags to avoid having it towed.

In closing arguments, the prosecution said evidence shows Lee was acting in atypical fashion when he neither turned on his body-worn camera nor reported his location to dispatch during his interaction with Parrish. Assistant State Attorney Justin McCormack said officers following such protocols is “Police 101.”

“He doesn’t do that,” McCormack said. “Why doesn’t he do that? He doesn’t want them to know where he is. He doesn’t want to be found.”

As for Lee and Parrish going to another location after they went to the dark alley, McCormack said there’s a simple reason Lee agreed with Parrish’s suggestion.

“He doesn’t want to have a witness to this crime,” he said. “He says, ‘Let’s go somewhere else.’ “

In his closing argument, McCray said Parrish was lying in an attempt to receive money; she admitted exploring filing a $300,000 civil suit against Lee.

“From the moment I met him, and after I looked into the evidence,” he said, “I knew that this young lady had set him up.”