State releases new interviews, documents in investigation of former Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels

ORANGE PARK, Fla. — On Tuesday, the State released new audio and video files as well as documents in the FDLE investigation of former Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels.

The investigation involves an extramarital affair with Cierra Smith. Smith and Daniels both formerly worked for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Smith was a corrections officer and Daniels’ subordinate when he was Chief of the Duval County Jail.

SIMILAR STORY: New documents, recordings released in investigation into former Clay sheriff Darryl Daniels

Last August Governor Ron DeSantis removed him from office.

We are still making our way through all of the material, but one of the more memorable interviews in the audio that was released today was from Mrs. Denise Daniels, Darryl Daniel’s wife. It was conducted on September 18, 2019 by Inspector Keith Riddick with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

A good portion of the interview was regarding May 6, 2019. It’s the day Smith was pulled over, following a complaint from former Sheriff Daniels, that Smith was following him in the car in Oakleaf Plantation.

Mrs. Daniels told Riddick she was already aware of the affair between Smith and her husband. In the interview, she said based on him tell her everything was over with Smith, she wasn’t expecting the phone call she received from her husband on May 6th, 2019.

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“When I got there, seen everything going down, went around in the circle a couple of times. Yeah, he called them [authorities], because she wouldn’t stop,” Mrs. Daniels said.

In the story above, you’ll see the video she began recording from her car. She told authorities Darryl called to let her know Cierra Smith was following him.

“He was calling me, I guess so he could...I don’t know what his reason for calling me was, just to say hey, I’m calling you for help? I don’t know?” Mrs. Daniels said.

In the video Smith is in the black Jeep and Darryl is in the truck in front of Smith. Denise described Smith to the Office of Investigations as “relentless” and said she “couldn’t believe she [Smith] was stalking my husband.”

“My issue was this: I did not want to get out of my truck and say, ‘Hey just stop it’, because like I told my husband this is your mess. This is not my mess, OK? And I don’t want any involvements with it. And I’ll be honest with you, I wanted to tag her—but I didn’t,” Mrs. Daniels said.

Later that year, Mrs. Daniels filed for an “injunction for protection” against smith on July 30, 2019.

She told Inspector Reddick, in letter dated September 20, 2019, Smith parked her Jeep on the side of her home “over the course of several months.” Mrs. Daniels also believes Smith entered through a “pool gate” on her property in the early morning hours.

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She also claims Smith also “stalked her daughter on social media and tried to meet her inside a local club.”

Ultimately, the injunction for protection was denied by a Duval County Circuit Judge - citing failure to provide enough facts to support her need the injunction for protection.

Former Sheriff Daniels is facing three misdemeanor counts of making false statements to law enforcement and one felony count of tampering with evidence.

Cox Media Group