Wakulla County, Florida
Charlie Creel
SHERIFF
5 Oak Siroee
Ceavefordville, Florida 32827
(850) 745-7100
OFFICE OF THE SHERIFF
February 16, 2015,
Honorable Governor Rick Scott
Executive Office of the Governor
PLoS
The Capitol
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Governor Scott,
On February 12, 2015, a “Whistle-Blower’s Act” complaint was submitted to your office by five
disgruntled employees of the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office (WCSO), of which | am the Sheriff.
Although | am not going to address the issues of why these employees chose to seek this status | want
to make it perfectly clear that none of these employees are under investigation for any matter
in fact, two of the employees have received raises and one a promotion since I've been in office.
In short, it can be stated that their allegations are truly political in nature.
ALLEGATION #1
Every year the WCSO sponsors an event titled Project Graduation at Wakulla Springs State Park. The
event occurs the day and night before graduation for Wakulla High School Seniors. The event in question
happened in June 5, 2014,
‘The purpose of this event is to give graduating seniors a controlled environment so that they can enjoy
themselves and celebrate their achievements, while the parents can also enjoy a “worry free”
environment. The event is sponsored by the WCSO through community support with donations and
fundraisers held by the WCSO to include a golf tournament. The day and evening events include food,
‘swimming, boat rides, music, games and raffle drawings for prizes.
WCSO Law Enforcement Deputies and Detention Deputies strictly control Project Graduation. We use
inmate trustees, who are closely supervised by Corrections Officers, to help with the “set up” and trash
control to save labor costs.Page 2
Governor Scott
On that day, WCSO staff used one inmate (the inmate in question) who was incarcerated for drug
offenses and who had been designated a trustee. | made the decision to put him in civilian clothes,
rather than in a striped uniform, knowing the inmate was going to be around high school seniors and |
did not want to alarm them (even though most have reached the age of eighteen, and are considered
adults). At no time was this inmate out of sight or out of reach of WCSO staff.
Also, at no time was | informed that this inmate was a registered sex offender such that he should not
perform the duties of a trustee. It was only months later that | learned that the inmate had been
registered as a sexual offender in 2006. Apparently he had been arrested for having sexual relations
an underage girlfriend--he was twenty one and she was fourteen at the time. | have taken steps to
ensure that no inmate who is a registered sex offender or has been convicted of a violent crime is given
trustee status.
ALLEGATION #2
This matter has been thoroughly investigated and vetted in the media. Deputy Moon and
Undersheriff Morrison have been disciplined, and it needs no further explanation,
ALLEGATION #3
‘The barbecue grill for the fundraiser was built by WCSO Maintenance employees out of scrap materials
furnished by maintenance staff. No inmate labor was used to build this grill n addition, inmate labor
was not used to build a grill for Undersheriff Trey Morrison,
Pete Cochran, WCSO’s Director of Maintenance, over a year ago while at home and at his own expense,
built Undersheriff Morrison a barbecue grill and delivered it to Morrison’ residence without any prior
knowledge of Morrison or myself. The grill was simply a personal gift from Mr. Cochran to the
Undersheriff.Page 3
Governor Scott
'n conclusion, itis easy to see by reading these allegations that certain employees and members of the
‘community are pursuing these allegations because they are not satisfied by the investigation and
discipline of Deputy Richard Moon and Undersheriff Morrison. This complaint appears to be politically
‘motivated and is an obvious abuse of the Whistle-Blower’s Act.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if | can provide additional information.
Sheriff Charlie Creel ——___
Wakulla County Sheriff's Office
15 Oak Street
Crawfordville, Florida 32327
ccreel@wcso.org
850-745-7101