Corshelle Jenkins, an Oregon resident, was accused of a crime that she actually didn’t commit. She was charged with shoplifting pink boots from Nordstrom in August 2023 while she was actually at her job at a senior living facility. It was later in May 2025 that a letter was sent to her informing her about the arrest warrant issued against her, as she didn’t show up to court, and that the police were ordered to take her into custody.

According to Atlanta Black Star, the 36-year-old Corshelle Jenkins is a Black mother of six who was stunned by the accusation. She then thought that a court visit could help her clarify that it was a case of mistaken identity. However, in court, a judge told her that no public lawyers were available to represent her. Therefore, she was advised to attend court appearances until the charges against her remained pending.

Following a distressing wait period of eight months, prosecutors accepted that it was a case of mistaken identification, while Jenkins remained petrified about being imprisoned over the false accusations. While speaking with The Guardian, she said, “I was worried about getting pulled over and arrested with my kids in the car.”

She also learned that she was not eligible for a second job she had applied for, as she feared her current position, where yearly background checks were required. The Oregonian woman also admitted being deeply worried because the situation threatened her ability to support her children while she faced the possibility of losing her job and being jailed for something she hadn’t done.

The Guardian also reported that five months after her first hearing, Jenkins learned the basis for the charges against her, after she was eventually assigned a court-appointed attorney, who presented her with the CCTV footage of the alleged theft. The 36-year-old defendant identified the convict as a “loose acquaintance” and informed the police that her name was Corshelle Jenkins.

While the outlet noted that the two women shared little physical resemblance beyond having the same skin tone, the Portland Police stated in their report that “DMV photo matched the subject in custody.”

An enraged Jenkins acknowledged being “angry” by the false accusations and stated, “But all I could do was just wait for an attorney. I wanted to prove this wasn’t me. I wanted to get this moving.”

Nonetheless, the case continued until January: two and a half years since the original charges were filed and eight months after she received a letter warning that she could be imprisoned for missing a court appearance. Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Pat Dooris stated that if a defense attorney had accepted the case when the woman was initially arrested, the case would have been settled months earlier.

Jenkins is among many others who reportedly went months, and in some cases years, without access to a public defender because of a growing backlog in Oregon’s court system. The situation has raised serious constitutional concerns, with some defendants remaining in custody because they had no legal representation in court.