Member Submission: Lake City
How is it that sex offenders that have lived in a motel for over a year that have been approved by the registering detective have to move out because the detective left and a new one comes and takes over? It is not right for them to become homeless because one detective leaves and another replaced them. We live in Lake City Florida and I have been manager of a small motel trying desperately hard to give them a second chance with a place to call home only to be told they have to leave. They served their time, they have jobs and just need a place to stay where they have been for over a year and don’t bother anyone. Please help
Who made this decision, the Sheriff’s Department? Do you have the County Board meeting schedule?
Thank you for your determination to help these citizens lead a new, law-abiding life.
There is certainly more to this story, because residency restrictions are defined in statute. Nowhere does it say, I don’t believe, that detectives have any discretion over where registrants live. It could be that the new detective is interpreting the code slightly differently (e.g., perhaps the previous detective measured motel property line as 1,001’ from school property line, while new detective measures it at just 999’). Or perhaps it has something to do with probation or parole. Either way, the detective owes you an answer.
Regardless, be sure your county commissioner (or city councilman) is aware that losing these tenants not only would hurt your business but also would create homeless sex offenders that would be harder for law enforcement to track. THAT often gets their attention.
I would think some news outlets would be interested in hearing about this. I know you may not want the spotlight on your residents, but you may find it to be your hail Mary. The previous official who approved the residence and the new official and supervisors need to do some explaining to the residents and the public. When the general citizens begin to see homeless “sex offenders” in their wooded lots and lying in the sidewalk they will want to know why and refer back to these actions. Take it to the Sheriff, the County Commission, City Council, state representatives. They need to show the statute, the map, the measurement, and every bit of what this person is basing this decision on, and you need to have examples of how long people have been living there and show it all to these public officials and representatives. You have a right as a business owner to maintain your business.
I totally agree! It’s not right that a “sanctimonious” officer can come in a re-write the “rules” that’s been in place for quite some time. Here where I live in Tennessee my officer changed and the new one just left everything as the way the previous officer did. That is the way it should be. Yes, we’ve done our time and should be able to re-intergrate back into society but people, like that officer of yours, tend make their “feelings” the determinig factor in creating or disbanding prior officer’s (or county) rules. Get a lawyer, see what can legally be done is what I’d suggest. I hope and pray it all works out for you and those you’re trying to give a second chance.
I am going to guess the new officer, is trying to enforce some ridiculous law that they cannot live with another felon, or to many reside within to close of proximity, or boundaries weren’t measured correctly, etc. Like another mentioned, I would hound every city, county, state, and Dept of corrections official I could!
Tereto
I do not live around any other registrants. When I talked to the Deputy about it, he says he likes when there are clusters close to each other, that way he doesn’t have to dive all over town chasing people down.
My point is, if a bunch lived in one hotel, it would be much easier to keep track of them instead of hitting brick walls. And wonder how many will now end up homeless.
I think we all need to resolve that they will not be homeless, come what may, and work and contribute whatever we need to in order to prevent that from occurring. Of course we need some details of what exactly is being expected of them.
If your tenants refuse to move, what legal recourse would the detective have, if any?
Obtain an arrest warrant on suspicion of ‘failing to obtain my personal approval’?
I mean, my next-door neighbor didn’t approve my residence, but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving.
What am I missing?
Has anyone spoken to the affected registrants about the reasons the new detective gave them for having to move? Whether the reasons are valid or not he still had to give them a reason for having to move.
Before you start making the rounds of all the government offices and officials you have to know details.
I appreciate and respect the motel owners concerns and sense of injustice. As we all know, he’s taking a stand that so very few, if any, folks in the general public take. He’s willing to take a potential hit to his business to stand up for these folks.
If the former detective was careless or simply wasn’t concerned and was wrong and the new person catches the error then the worst thing we could do is to make a lot of noise about it.
We need to make sure of all the facts before storming the castle.
If two officers are left trying to interpret vague laws then this stuff happens. The upside here is that if it’s just an interpretation then I’d get a lawyer and sue. I’d get clarification from the officer’s supervisor as to what is going on and see if they can help.
In any case, keep us updated. This stuff happens all the time simply because lawmakers are allowed to pass whatever ambiguous and sometimes conflicting laws. And leaves things open to interpretation.
Check the statutes and county ordinances. If your hotel meets the criteria for registrant residence, make a formal complaint against the officer forcing your tenants out and go from there. You have every right – it affects your living. He (or she) is supposed to be enforcing the law, not his/her personal opinions.
It’s been my experience that complaints against registry enforcement officers from non-registrants carry more weight in the system.
The officer can not do that. Please give me a call or email me. Thank you
True Confessions
What law enforcement demands is to know where we are and what we are doing. Most Florida registration statutes state we must have a verifiable address. A homeless Registrant automatically becomes non-compliant until their new address is registered within 24 hours to the Sherriff of said County.
I applaud this Motel owner for giving a so called second chance. Lake County Chief needs to be called out here in these actions of his fellow deputies.
I keep and continue to keep preaching about a paranoid society that has been told over and over, we are monsters no matter what the facts of our cases are.
All over Florida Registrants are being made homeless because of Sex Offender Laws made to protect the public but are working in reverse.
JEV-True Confessions
Jev
The highest rank in the Sheriff’s office is the Sheriff. While Sheriff’s Deputies are sworn in and hired, the Sheriff has to be elected by the people. This is contrary to Police Departments which are headed by a Chief. However, in PD’s, that highest rank is hired just like the lowest ranking officer.
Supposedly the people get a say in who will be Sheriff but zero say in who becomes a police chief. Being tough of sex offenders is something most citizens want and praise. So if we were all sent off to an island, there would be little to no push back from the population.
When I worked in law enforcement, I saw firsthand the horrors some officers got away with, and the cover ups that followed. Some of the cover ups were just turning a blind eye and others were active law breaking by making evidence disappear.
I tried to be neutral but eventually had to take sides and since I was not party to authorized criminal behavior, I finally had to resign to get away from the horrors, abuses, lies, cover ups, and lives ruined, in the department and the public.
I was once asked by a professor to write a book on my experiences but I declined. The power some of those people still have to this day, to make bad things happen, is scary beyond description. They do not just go after you, they also go after those who you love and care about. Funny in a way as the registry does about the same thing now that I think about it. And who runs the registries? Yeah, law enforement.
Lake city not lake county…. It’s Columbia county.
Have we been in contact with this proprietor or ascertained any more about the situation and what the authorities are expecting to be done?