OCALA, Fla. – A Marion County sheriff’s deputy has resigned amid an investigation into two instances where he’s accused of inappropriately contacting a female, including a teenage girl.
The deputy, who we are not naming because he was not charged with a crime, resigned Oct. 16. In his resignation letter, he thanked Sheriff Billy Woods for “this opportunity and the privilege to have served the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the citizens of Marion County.”
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According to documents provided by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy conducted a traffic stop in August involving a 17-year-old female driver. She was given a verbal traffic warning, but the deputy also asked for her phone number, which she gave him, and when he asked where she was going, she said McDonald’s.
The documents say the deputy then told the teen that he would follow her to McDonald’s. She and a friend got food through the drive-thru then sat in the car and ate because the dining area was closed. The teen told the investigator that the deputy parked three spaces away and texted her that workers forgot the ranch for his nuggets. She also received a call from him but didn’t answer either the call or the text.
When the investigator talked to the deputy, he told them he had taken her phone number for law enforcement purposes, and followed her to McDonald’s to show that cops are not bad. When asked why he texted her about the sauce for the nuggets, he said he wanted to see if she had any ranch. According to the documents, the deputy also was asked why he used his department-issued phone to conduct an online search for “born in 2006.” the deputy said he was curious.
The investigator concluded the deputy committed a dereliction of duty, and he was given a one-day suspension on Oct. 9.
But while reviewing cell phone data from the deputy’s phone, the investigator says he found another concerning text message in an unrelated incident from June. In that incident, the deputy was responding to a call about some boys yelling for help in a swamp. According to an administrative review of the case, the deputy knocked on a female’s door to ask if she had seen or heard anything about the situation, and she said that she hadn’t. He left the house, but then a few minutes later he texted her. When she asked how he got her number, he texted back, “girl we got resources.”
According to the investigation, it was determined that the deputy used the sheriff’s office computer system to look up her information, against office policy. They also found the deputy did not activate his body-worn camera during the conversation, which he should have.
Officials recommended firing the deputy on Oct. 16, the same day he resigned.
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