CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Chesapeake Police Officer charged with forging a suspect's signature on court summons will likely not see the inside of a jail cell.
On Monday morning, Skysha Nettles and her attorneys entered a plea agreement with Chesapeake's General District Court. Nettles' felony forgery charge was dropped to a misdemeanor in exchange for 12 months of jail time, but that jail time is suspended on the condition of 12 months of good behavior.
Court records show on Dec. 31, 2022, Nettles issued a summons to a man accused of shoplifting at a Food Lion on Atlantic Avenue. Nettles gave the suspect a copy, but later that day, a sergeant noticed the man did not sign the summons.
When Nettles returned to work, according to court documents, she told her superiors she forgot to have the suspect sign the document. Nettles was advised to relocate the suspect and get this signature. If she couldn't locate him, Nettles was told to get a magistrate's summons.
The summons was returned later that day, but another superior noticed the suspect's signature "didn't look right."
After being questioned by a detective, Nettles admitted that she was unable to relocate the suspect and forged the signature. Nettles was arrested and the Chesapeake Police Department
suspended her without pay.
Director of Public Communications for the city, Heath Covey, says Nettles resigned from the department shortly after her arrest on Jan. 25. Covey says she is no longer employed by the city.
