DENVER -- It was a routine traffic stop with the driver expecting a warning. But what he got was handcuffs and jail time.

In the end, it was all a mistake, but as 7NEWS Investigator John Ferrugia discovered, the incident raises serious questions about how Aurora police conduct routine investigations.

Jerome Powell works for a government contractor and has no criminal record. He said he has had a security clearance ever since he was in the Navy. So how could he be the subject of an Aurora warrant for two felonies -- crimes he never committed?

He claims it's sloppy police work by a veteran detective and police supervisors who didn't do their jobs.

"He asks me to get out of the car and I thought that was a little weird, you know. I have never been asked to get out of the car after a traffic stop," said Powell.

In late July, Powell drove through a yellow light as it turned red. A Mountain View police officer followed him and a block later pulled him over in a parking lot. After checking Powell's license in his computer, the routine stop turned scary.

"So I get out and I put my hands behind my back and he puts the handcuffs on me and says I am being arrested for an outstanding warrant," said Powell.

"I am shocked. I have no clue what's going on. I am not aware of any warrants out for me," Powell said.

Powell was being arrested for an incident in August 2003. During that incident, a man walked into Aaron's Rental in Aurora and signed for more than $10,000 in computer gear, furniture, and other expensive items, giving the employees Powell's driver's license as his identification. He then had the merchandise delivered to his apartment building but he never paid for it and never returned it.

Powell had lost his driver's license in July of 2003 -- weeks before the theft-- and had it replaced.

"When I realized I lost my driver's license, I went to the DMV, told them it was lost and got a new one. I filled out the paperwork and got a new driver's license," Powell said.

The Aurora police detective, using the information from the old license, began investigating Powell and seemed to ignore overwhelming evidence that Powell's lost license had been used by someone else.

"I don't know how the officer issued a warrant out for me because everything pointed to the person that stole the rental equipment," Powell said.

In fact, the apartment where the stolen items were taken was rented by a career criminal. The manager of that apartment told police he had never heard of Powell.

The references and phone numbers listed on the rental contract are the career criminal's relatives -- no one related to Powell. And the career criminal didn't nearly fit Powell's description.

"I outweigh him by 50 pounds. He's 5 inches taller than me. He has numerous tattoos. I have no tattoos," Powell said. "(The detective) had all this information but never called me or contacted me. I never got a letter (and he) never came to my house, never tried but somehow I got issued an arrest warrant."

"I knew it couldn't be him. There's absolutely no way. My son is a source of pride for the whole family. He was always a straight-A student. He went to Purdue. He studied nuclear engineering and has a nuclear engineering degree," said Powell's mother Yvette Corella.

She just happens to be a Denver police officer. She called the Aurora detective, to talk officer-to-officer, and look for answers.

"My son is listed in the phonebook. He's very easy to find. He's the only one listed with his name," said Corella. "(I asked,) 'You have his address. Why didn't you try to call him or have him come in? With or without counsel and let him know about the charges? This would have been cleared up two years ago. And (the Aurora detective) said he wasn't going to litigate this on the phone. That was it."

Acting Aurora Police Chief Terry Jones admitted his detective seemed to be fixated on Powell even though the evidence pointed elsewhere.

"He didn't do his job as thoroughly as I wish he had," Jones said.

Jones said if the detective had made a simple phone call to Powell he probably would not have been arrested. Everything that happened was a result of the detective not doing his job correctly, Jones said.

"We're going to initiate an internal investigation into this, the reactions of the detective as well as the supervisor to find out what happened or what didn't happen," Jones said.

"He's humiliated by the whole experience and just so upset. And I was trying not to cry and not to be upset so he wouldn't get upset. But he was just heartbroken, that anybody could think that he was a criminal," said Corella.

"The fact that I didn't do it and I did everything right. And I got arrested for something I didn't do. I mean, I actually went to jail," said Powell.

"Before, I never thought about going to jail. Now, it's in the back of my mind every time I see a cop -- 'I hope he doesn't pull me over,'" he said.

The Arapahoe County district attorney has dropped all charges against Powell, but he and his family are out several thousand dollars after having to post bond and get a lawyer to clear his name.

The Aurora police chief said he agrees Powell should be reimbursed for the department's error but he said that's a legal matter to be determined with the city attorney.

If you have been arrested by mistake and you've released, contact 7NEWS at 7NEWSInvestigates@thedenverchannel.com. Or if you have a comment or question about this story, contact us!