Janelle Irwin Taylor
Bruce Bartlett, State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit covering Pinellas and Pasco counties, will seek the maximum penalty against those preying on victims of Hurricane Helene, he announced Wednesday.
That includes looters, scammers and unlicensed contractors.
“It is reprehensible that there are some who would take advantage when people are at their most vulnerable. Rest assured, any criminal who tries that in Pinellas and Pasco County will feel the full weight of the law,” Bartlett said.
Florida law requires all contractors to be licensed by the state. During a declared state of emergency, unlicensed contractors face enhanced penalties, making violations a felony.
“Sadly, this won’t be the last storm that we face,” Bartlett said. “We will ensure that our citizens have confidence in who they hire and deter any future predators from even thinking about trying their scam in our community.”
Last year, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody advised State Attorneys not to release defendants charged with a theft crime before their first appearance before a Judge if the offense occurred during a declared state of emergency, an effort to crack down on looting.
“Looters must be locked up in pretrial detention for as long as possible to ensure they do not continue to wreak havoc on displaced Floridians or pull vital resources from ongoing recovery efforts. I have been in contact with the State Attorneys in the hardest hit areas and have asked them to seek pretrial detention to the fullest extent possible for looters looking to take advantage of Floridians during their greatest time of need,” Moody said last year.
She also advised State Attorneys to seek pretrial detention against defendants accused of looting during an emergency.
