State drops charges against accused jewelry thief

Jessica Compton Cooper,35, of Jacksonville was arrested earlier in September for grand theft related to a 2018 residential break-in on Calico Jack Way in Green Cove Springs.

According to an arrest affidavit, on Dec. 19, 2018, the victim found her jewelry box open on her bed, in addition to an empty plastic bag that had contained $500 in cash. The victim told a Green Cove Springs detective that gold jewelry valued at $970 was missing from the box. In May 2021, an FDLE lab processed a latent print lifted from the scene that belonged to the defendant, and the following October, the defendant admitted to the theft, according to the detective.

On Sept. 13, 2022, the State Attorney’s Office filed a disposition notice stating the office declined to prosecute the defendant on the charge.