“The number one priority of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) since these storms formed in the Gulf has been the safety and security of our residents, businesses, and guests.” After keeping citizens safe from the storm itself, the next mission is to protect them through the long recovery. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri has made it clear that he will not tolerate anyone trying to take advantage of people who are already suffering from the devastation of the storms. At a recent press conference, he talked about what PCSO is doing to combat looters and scammers.

Many people evacuated after Helene, and when Milton came shortly afterward more than 500,000 Pinellas County residents fled their homes, leaving some areas ghost towns for days. “With some people still without power, and people washed out of their homes and businesses, we assured our residents and business owners that we would saturate their neighborhoods and businesses with deputies to prevent looting and deter those who wanted to wreak further havoc,” the sheriff said. “We wanted people to feel safe so that they could evacuate and not worry about their properties.” 

After the hurricanes hit, we heavily increased our patrol of all affected areas, with about 80 extra deputies out on the beaches every night, and about 30 extra deputies keeping an eye on things during the day. It was a good thing they were out there, because between October 2^nd and October 23^rd they arrested 45 people who were up to no good in the devastated neighborhoods. They had a total of 68 charges among them, including armed robbery, burglary, loitering and prowling, grand theft, vandalism, and trespassing. Beyond that, PCSO deputies found another 196 people who clearly had no business in the ruins. Although they could not establish probable cause for an arrest, the sheriff said, “We made contact with them and told them to get out.”

These weren’t locals who just wandered over the bridge – these were criminal opportunists who came from far away specifically because they thought there would be easy prey. Only a few were from Pinellas County, and the majority were not U.S. citizens. Between unguarded property and people desperate to find help to rebuild their home and their lives, thieves and scammers thought there would be easy pickings. Sheriff Gualtieri begs to differ. “A lot of these people were in the area to take other people’s property, and our deputies’ efforts prevented additional crimes from occurring.”

The sheriff’s office isn’t going anywhere – robust patrols will be continued as long as necessary. “As the Pinellas beaches recover, we’re going to continue these patrols and arrest everyone we can who is stealing from the vulnerable victims of two back-to-back storms that have devastated our community.”

With recovery and rebuilding comes a new set of concerns – unlicensed contractors. “We’re now focused on protecting our residents and businesses who are desperate to rebuild and get on with their lives.” Right after the hurricanes, shady people flocked to town offering to do work on flooded or wind damaged property. “In some cases, they have no intention of doing the work, in other cases they are unqualified to do the work, and in all of these cases they’re unlicensed to do the work.” More than 40,000 homes were damaged in both hurricanes, so legitimate contractors are backed up with work. People are desperate to get their lives back in order, and they might sign contracts without reading them carefully, or trust a stranger who claims to be licensed without looking for proof. “People come in after a hurricane and solicit work, get down payments, and then they never do the work, never complete the work, or they do shoddy work that does not meet code and then has to be redone at additional cost,” Sheriff Gualtieri said. 

To combat these unscrupulous people, PCSO set up an undercover operation in Madeira Beach that caught 63 unlicensed contractors out to take advantage of hurricane victims. Working in conjunction with Pinellas County Consumer Protection, the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the Florida Department of Financial Services, the City of Madeira Beach, and the State Attorney’s Office, PCSO had teams of undercover detectives visited by people who claimed they were licensed contractors. Since the area is currently under a state of emergency, the offense is bumped up to felony level per Florida State Statute 489.127.

“These people are simply scammers and thieves and no different than the people in the neighborhoods at 3:00 a.m. breaking into houses that we’ve been arresting.” They offered to do the kinds of big projects that, if done wrong, can ruin a house – roofing, electrical and plumbing work, and major structural repairs.

Not only are they not certified to have the training and skills needed to repair damaged homes, but almost all of them also had lengthy criminal histories including charges of theft, fraud, burglary, robbery, stalking, drug crimes, and failing to register as a sex offender. Part of the licensing procedure involves a background check. Would you want a felon in your house with access to your family, your possessions, your financial information?

“Adherence to the licensing process in Florida is important, and it matters, because it involves a criminal history check – whether someone has a criminal history is a factor in whether someone is issued a license. These felons avoid the whole vetting process that licensing provides, and the assurances that it brings to consumers as to who they are bringing into their homes to do this very important work.” 

The undercover operation just covered a small section of a single city – but unlicensed contractors are everywhere that houses have been damaged. PCSO will continue to stop them, and our Economic Crimes Unit detectives will investigate if anyone becomes a victim of their schemes to defraud, but there are things you can do to protect yourself. Don’t feel pressured to act fast, don’t pay a large sum of money upfront, make sure there is a contract, and read that contract closely. The state has a website that offers online insurance help, a place to report insurance fraud, and they just launched Check My Contract, a free service where the Florida Department of Financial Services can review repair contracts to make sure they meet certain criteria. Remember: don’t sign, and don’t pay, until you are sure of who you are working with. If you think you’ve been a victim of an unlicensed contractor or any fraud or crime related to the hurricanes, call our non-emergency number, 727-582-6200.

In the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Property and Evidence Division, what comes in must eventually go out. Florida state statute determines exactly how long property is kept. If it is evidence that is tied to a case, it is generally stored not just until the trial is over but until the suspect has served their full sentence. Property and Evidence also holds items for safekeeping, from found wallets and abandoned bikes, to certain inmate property. When possible, these items are returned to the owner or their designee, but with half a million items they can’t keep everything forever, so there is a system in place to determine when and how items in Property and Evidence are destroyed. 

Any evidentiary material – any items or samples that have been collected for a criminal case – must be reviewed by the case agent to determine whether it can be returned to the owner or destroyed. Some items, such as firearms and drugs, have to be destroyed in a very specific way.

For guns, any part that has a serial number or can be realistically used to make a gun – such as the frame, slide, or barrel – has to be physically destroyed. “The State Attorney’s Office will review all of the evidence guns and confirm that there is no longer any need to keep them,” said Lieutenant John Luckett. “Once approved, we allow gun companies to bid on the other pieces of the gun.” That company strips down all of the firearms, separating the serialized parts slated for destruction from the auxiliary parts such as scopes, stocks, grips, triggers, and magazines. 

All of the serialized parts are then shredded into quarter-sized pieces. Knives and Tasers are also shredded. Members of Property and Evidence and Staff Inspections monitor the destruction process and make sure the resulting pieces are small enough and completely unusable. Anything that makes it through intact is shredded again. Only when the serialized parts are completely destroyed does the gun company get the non-serialized parts. The proceeds go to Cadets Unit 900, a program that lets young people learn about future careers in law enforcement and serve their communities while building character, physical fitness, and respect for the rule of law and human and civil rights.

Property and Evidence also receives a lot of ammunition. Some of it can be used at the PCSO firearms range, but not all that much. “Obviously we're not going to put it in our service guns,” said Lt. Luckett, “and even when it comes to practice, a lot of the ammo we get might have been wet at some point. You can't always tell the condition, so the vast majority of it ends up getting destroyed.” It usually goes to the Hillsborough County bomb squad, who put it in a bombproof container and ignite it. 

PCSO takes tons of drugs off the street – literally tons – and all the meth, cocaine, cannabis, mushrooms, and pills have to be destroyed. “For narcotics,” said Property and Evidence Supervisor Andy McEntegart, “Staff Inspections comes out to verify everything, and when it’s all accounted for, the drugs are incinerated.” Don’t worry, the process doesn’t produce toxic fumes. The drugs are never let out of their sight. “Staff Inspections will physically watch it enter the incinerator.” They also destroy medicine collected through Operation Medicine Cabinet, a program to help people safely get rid of expired or unwanted prescription medicine.

But there are thousands of items besides narcotics and firearms to be destroyed. “We have an industrial shredder that can shred paper, plastic, ID cards, and CDs,” said Property and Evidence Supervisor Kerri Bowden. “We also have sledgehammers to destroy bigger things. The intent is to make it unusable, so a bag would be cut, earrings would have their back snipped off, a fishing pole would be snapped in half.” Dozens of gambling machines had their computer components removed and smashed with a sledgehammer, while the frame is crushed.

Items are disposed of per state statute, but a few things meet other fates. If something significant was slated for destruction it could be donated to a museum instead. Rosaries go to the jail, where they are given to inmates who request them. Copies of the Quran and Bible are given to the agency chaplain or to a religious organization for use or for proper disposal. Flags are given to the Honor Guard to be destroyed in a dignified way as specified by the U.S. Flag Code. The K-9 Unit likes to have unusual, smelly items, either to lay a track, or to challenge their dogs by covering up the odor of explosives or narcotics they’re sniffing out. The Digital Forensics Unit sometimes gets phones and computers so they can practice accessing a variety of technology. 

For some of the people at Property and Evidence, it can be hard to see things destroyed. “Not for me,” said Bowden. “I’m a purger.” Still, there’s one kind of destruction she can’t stand. “I really don't like destroying the perfume because we have to break them open to make them unusable. We can't just open the top and pour it out, we have to break it. When they've stolen eight bottles and we have to destroy them, the smell gets pretty strong.”

Every child deserves to have a joyful holiday season. You can help by joining us on Saturday, December 7th at Fort De Soto Park for this year’s Ride And Run With The Stars. For more than 30 years, this has been the Tampa Bay area’s largest law enforcement fundraiser. Money raised at Ride And Run With The Stars goes directly to the Christmas Sharing Project which provides toys, bikes, clothes, and necessities to kids who are in need because of economic hardship or who have been victimized by crime. 

Ride And Run With The Stars is a family friendly event that includes running, biking, and family races as well as vendors, specialized vehicles, a K-9 demonstration, and Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving in a helicopter to meet children and hear their Christmas wishes. There’s also an online auction. 

To register or for more information, visit www.rideandrunwiththestars.com.