CrabFest Injunction GRANTED

 

April 22, 2021

The hearing related to Levy County’s petition for an emergency injunction to be issued to Keniuel Gates was held yesterday afternoon. Circuit Judge Craig DeThomasis heard nearly three hours of testimony in support of this application and upon careful consideration of the evidence presented, granted the injunction. This injunction effectively shut down Mr. Gates promotion of CrabFest 2021.

Mr. Gates responded to the injunction via Facebook Live late last night. In his 25 minute address he vowed to follow this order by the court and will not be promoting CrabFest 2021. Mr. Gates immediately altered his message and began calling for everyone who follows him to join in a march on the City of Williston in protest.

Mr. Gates, a Gainesville resident, has taken the organization of CrabFest upon himself. Residents of the Williston neighborhood along CR 318 where the event has historically taken place say enough is enough. They want peace this year and to guarantee peace, CrabFest must move to a safe venue. Mr. Gates organized a protest in this very neighborhood in September of 2020. The protest turned block party devolved into a senseless act of violence where six people were shot.

Sheriff McCallum, the residents of East Williston, the Ministerial Faith Alliance and the Levy County Board of County Commissioners are asking all to join together, refuse to participate in Mr. Gates or anyone else’s efforts to circumvent the injunction and help bring peace to this community. Sheriff McCallum respects everyone’s 1^st Amendment Right to peacefully assemble and their right to free speech but will not tolerate violence or any other violation of law, including blocking roads, which threaten our citizen’s safety.

Crash Involving LCSO Deputy

 

April 19, 2021

On Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 11:17 p.m. a Levy County Deputy was conducting traffic enforcement at the intersection of NE 99 Place and NE 105 Avenue due to numerous citizen complaints of drivers running this stop sign. The Deputy parked his patrol vehicle in an area near this intersection so he would be able to see who failed to stop.  

A Nissan passenger car approached this intersection driving north on NE 105 Avenue. The Nissan car struck the parked Deputy vehicle head-on. The force of this impact totaled both vehicles.

Our Deputy was transported to a nearby trauma center where he remains currently. He sustained non-life threatening injuries but underwent surgery this morning. The driver of the Nissan sustained minor injuries.

The Florida Highway Patrol was requested to investigate the crash. At the time of this release their investigation is on-going and it is anticipated criminal charges will be filed on the driver of the Nissan for DUI.  

The Deputy has two years law of enforcement experience with the LCSO and was previously with the Cedar Key Police Department. We pray for his speedy recovery and return to duty.

Traffic Advisory for Saturday, April 24, 2021

 

April 19, 2021

The Levy County Sheriff’s Office is alerting the public of potential traffic delays on Saturday, April 24, 2021. The public should be aware of an anticipated traffic detour and delays on US Alt. 27 north bound near the intersection of CR 316 and on CR 318 at the intersection of CR 335. The Sheriff’s Office will have additional check points established at all county roads entering into the planned event site on CR 318 and access will be restricted to this location to residents only. These intersections are as follow:

·       CR 318 at CR 335

·       CR 335 at NE 35^th Street

·       CR 331 A (NE 205^th Avenue) at NE 50 Street (Mixon Road)

·       US Alt. 27 A at CR 318

·       US Alt. 27 A at NE 35^th Street

Persons wishing to enter the event area are cautioned that the Sheriff’s Office will be strictly enforcing parking violations. There is NO Parking on any county right of ways. Parking violations will be cited and the owners will be subject to having their vehicle towed.

Inmate Found in Possession of Handmade Weapons

 

April 13, 2021

On March 25, 2021 Detention Officer Jarrod Horne was performing the 11:00 PM security check in the dormitory at the Levy County Detention Facility. During this check he observed inmate James Goins (2/25/86) acting suspiciously and it appeared Goins was pulling a rope like item into his cell. Officer Horne immediately seized the item and called for additional officer assistance.

Goins was removed from his cell and secured with handcuffs to be taken to a confinement area. Goins resisted officers and was told he would be sprayed with pepper spray if he continued to resist them. He complied with their orders and was escorted out of the dormitory. Officers then searched his cell and found contraband items that had been fashioned into weapons.

Seized from Goins cell was a makeshift club that measured eleven inches long and had been fashioned from cardboard and paper, a flattened piece of battery that had been sharpened razor sharp and pieces of sheets and towels cut into strips and fashioned into a rope. Each of these items could have been used as a weapon against any officer or inmate.

All seized items of contraband are in violation of the Levy County Detention Facility rules and Goins was issued a disciplinary report for possessing them. Goins could receive up to 30 days in disciplinary confinement as well as potentially facing additional criminal charges.

This is an example of the many dangers our detention officers face on a daily basis, said Sheriff McCallum. Officer Horne is an asset to the Levy County Sheriff’s Office and is doing an exceptional job, we are very proud of him and all of the men and women in the Detention Bureau for their hard work. They work in a very stressful atmosphere with many violent dangers and I salute and thank each one of them.  

Operation Benchmark Nets 7 Arrests

 

April 5, 2021

The Levy County Sheriff’s Office launched operation Benchmark in February 2021 which was created to identify sex offenders and sexual predators in Levy County who were not complying with state offender registration requirements. Sex offenders and sexual predators are required by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, after being convicted of any sexually based crime, to register with their local sheriff’s office. Registration requirements include notifying law enforcement of address changes, providing information on the vehicles they drive, electronic addresses, employment locations and planned travel arrangements.

Detectives in the Criminal Investigations Division spent hours reviewing the files of the 201 registered sex offenders and sexual predators in Levy County. This was followed by countless hours of investigation into those offenders who did not have their records up to date. Some tips related to suspicious activity of registered sex offenders came directly from our public and detectives looked into each complaint.  

Operation Benchmark was concluded this past week and netted seven (7) arrests which included a variety of registration requirement failures. One additional case is still outstanding and detectives have filed an application for an arrest warrant on this individual. The following individuals have been taken into custody and are awaiting trial:

Deonte Washington

Fredrick Carpenter

Gary Thunquest

Jeffrey Lashley

Joel Ramirez

Renee Mangini

Todd Thompson