An Open Letter to the Citizens of Florida:

As Florida sheriffs we have taken an oath to serve and protect the citizens of this great state and are obligated to warn you of the dangers of Amendment 2. Our desire is not to debate the validity of marijuana as a medicine, but to inform you that Amendment 2 is still a wolf in sheep's clothing riddled with loopholes large enough to float a battleship through. Amendment 2 is a slippery slope toward full legalization of marijuana.

Medical marijuana is already legally available in Florida by statute. It is available for the very sick and dying. The law also allows for medical marijuana use for children with seizures, cancer patients, Parkinson’s patients, those suffering with ALS, and the terminally ill. There are already six approved and regulated dispensaries growing and delivering medical marijuana to qualified patients. There is no need to put medical marijuana in our State Constitution; it must not be a constitutional right to smoke pot.

Dozens of medical associations do not support smoking pot as an effective medicine: The American and Florida Medical Associations, American Cancer Society, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Glaucoma Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Addiction Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Epilepsy Society, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Who should Floridians believe when it comes to the health and safety of our state? Hundreds of medical professionals and the law enforcement agencies that protect them, or a pro-pot lobby run by those who would make millions from opening their own dispensaries and an over-the-top ambulance chaser?

Amending the Florida Constitution is a dangerous proposition; it gives regulatory authority to state agencies, rather than the Legislature. There is no mechanism in the amendment for the Legislature to step in and place regulations beyond the amendment language. This means that when, not if, problems and abuse arise from the passage of this amendment, there is no legal way for the Legislature to solve the problem. Their hands will be tied, as will those of state and local law enforcement agencies.

This experiment is a threat to you as a citizen of Florida, and we cannot stand idly by without warning you about the dangerous side effects of legalization and the irreversible dangers it presents. We hope that you will vote your own conscience and keep Florida the great state we all love.

Sincerely yours,

Sheriff Larry Ashley, Okaloosa County
Sheriff Susan Benton, Highlands County
Sheriff Jerry Demings, Orange County & President of the Florida Sheriffs Association
Sheriff Joey Dobson, Baker County
Sheriff Don Eslinger, Seminole County
Sheriff Emery Gainey, Marion County
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Pinellas County
Sheriff Bobby Haddock, Washington County
Sheriff Wendell Hall, Santa Rosa County
Sheriff Dewey Hatcher, Dixie County
Sheriff Mark Hunter, Columbia County
Sheriff Wayne Ivey, Brevard County
Sheriff Grady Judd, Polk County
Sheriff Brain Lamb, Lafayette County
Sheriff Daryl Loar, Indian River County
Sheriff Bill Leeper, Nassau County
Sheriff Bobby McCallum, Levy County
Sheriff Al Nienhuis, Hernando County
Sheriff Bill Prummell, Charlotte County
Sheriff Tom Knight, Sarasota County
Sheriff Kevin Rambosk, Collier County
Sheriff Lou Roberts, Jackson County
Sheriff Bobby Schultz, Gilchrist County
Sheriff Will Snyder, Martin County
Sheriff Ben Stewart, Madison County
Sheriff Brad Steube, Manatee County

September 8, 2016

On September 4th, the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting an assault and sexual battery. When the deputy arrived he discovered the victim required transportation to a medical facility and the Dixie County Emergency Services transported the victim to an area hospital. During the ensuing follow-up investigation, the Gainesville Police Department assisted the Sheriff’s Office with the evidence obtained at the hospital while Dixie County deputies located witness(s) to be interviewed.
According to the complaint, the victim and another male were at the suspect’s, Randall D. Fowler’s, home between September 1st and September 4th. During that time the parties engaged in using illegal drugs after which Fowler became violent. Fowler then armed himself with a firearm and threatened both parties with harm while forcing them, a 20 year old male and 53 year old female, to engage in sexual intercourse while he watched the sexual act. After this was done, Fowler refused to allow the two victims to leave the residence. While Fowler had the two parties still inside the residence, which is a small camper trailer, Fowler left to go to a next door neighbor’s home. When he left the trailer, he padlocked the outside door preventing the two victims from leaving. Fowler returned from the neighbor’s home and again refused to allow the two victims to leave the residence. Fowler later himself required medical treatment, and when he left for this treatment, he failed to lock the door behind him which is when the two victims were able to leave the trailer which is when law enforcement was called.
On September 7th, Fowler was arrested on the charges of Forcible Sexual Battery while Armed with a Deadly Weapon, Aggravated Assault with a Firearm 2 counts, False Imprisonment 2 counts and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
On September 8th, Fowler was also arrested by the Department of Corrections Probation and Parole for a Violation of Conditional Release involving Sexual Battery which stems from Fowler’s previous prison sentence and parole from a previous Sexual Battery in Marion County in 2004.

September 5, 2016

Shortly after 2:00am the Dixie County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a complainant on NE 349 Hwy in Old Town. According to the complainant, he had a family member, Charles Randall Miller, at his residence who had been creating a disturbance. When the deputy arrived, Miller had left the scene and returned to his property which is separated by a small wood area. While the deputy was in the complainant’s front yard talking with the complainant, there were several rounds of gunfire in their direction. The deputy then placed the complainant and another witness behind his patrol unit for cover and identified himself as law enforcement. At that time Miller again fired several rounds at the deputy at which point the deputy returned fire. Miller retreated back into the wooded area and once in the wooded area again fired additional rounds. At this point the deputy requested additional assistance to the shots fired. Additional Dixie County Sheriff’s units responded along with six Seminole County Sheriff’s units that were in Dixie County’s coastal areas working the hurricane Hermine detail. The first responding Seminole County units were able to hear Miller inside his residence yelling at law enforcement to come in and get him. These responding deputies secured the perimeter surrounding the home and removed the complainant and witnesses from the area.
Additional Dixie County Sheriff’s personnel were called to the scene and attempts were made by them and Sheriff Hatcher to establish communication with Miller. After being unable to establish communication with Miller, Sheriff Hatcher requested the assistance of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team at 4:10am. Alachua County requested that Dixie County also request the assistance of the Marion County SWAT team as supplemental personnel. Along with the outside Sheriff’s Office’s, additional agencies involved included the Dixie County Emergency Medical Services and the Cross City and Mayo Correctional K-9 teams. The SWAT teams were deployed around the home while the initial Dixie County deputy met with the State’s Attorney and Judge in order to secure arrest and search warrants.
After all efforts to establish communication with Miller failed, the SWAT teams breached the front the entry of the home and during this time, Miller surrendered to law enforcement. Miller was arrested on two counts of Aggravated Assault with a Firearm and one count of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer with a Firearm. Miller, 60 years of age from Old Town, is currently being held in the Dixie County Jail awaiting his first appearance in court.
During the subsequent search of Miller’s residence several firearms and various rounds of ammunition were recovered as evidence.

The Florida Sheriff’s Conference, which was held this week, not only included mandatory training for the Florida Sheriff’s, but it was also time for the election of various officers. The tri-county area will be represented well for the coming term as our Sheriff’s serve on the Board of Directors. Sheriff Bobby Schultz, Sheriff Bobby McCallum and Sheriff Dewey Hatcher will all three be on the board. They will be representing Districts 2 and 3 of the Florida Sheriff’s districts which encompass thirty-four counties and stretches from the Florida Georgia line as far south as Brevard County. This is believed to be the first time that all three tri-county Sheriffs have been elected to serve on the Board of Directors at the same time.