Local

By JENNIFER CABRERA/Alachua Chronicle

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Davis has filed a discrimination and retaliation complaint against Sheriff Clovis Watson, Jr. in the Eighth Judicial Circuit.

Davis previously filed charges of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Florida Commission on Human Relations (FCHR) in February 2022 and received a Notice of Determination from FCHR in October and a Notice of Suit Rights from the EEOC in January 2023.

Davis was employed by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ASO) from 1999-2001, was rehired in 2004 after going to college, and currently serves as a Sergeant in the Patrol Division. Watson became Sheriff on January 5, 2021.

In the complaint, Davis describes the promotion process at ASO: eligible employees may take a promotional exam and must achieve a minimum score to be placed on the eligibility list, the top candidates are given an opportunity to interview with either the Sheriff or Undersheriff, and the Sheriff or his designee makes the final decision based on relevant experience, background, performance history, discipline history, and other job-related factors. Davis claims that since Watson took office, he and other Caucasian employees have “continuously been passed over for promotion and transfer because of their race” and that he has been third on the promotion list for lieutenant for the past 17 months. Davis states that he filed an internal complaint about racially-based discrimination in promotions at ASO but says he received no response, leading to the filing of the charges with EEOC and FCHR.

Davis provides several examples of minority candidates being “promoted, reassigned, or otherwise selected over a Caucasian candidate, with the deciding factor being race.” One example is a black male who was ranked fifth on the Sergeant’s promotional list and was selected over four non-minority candidates and given a position that is highly unusual for newly-promoted Sergeants, who are usually assigned to patrol. Another black male was named as “acting” lieutenant in spite of not being one of the top five candidates and not being eligible for promotion to lieutenant at the time. Another black male was promoted to lieutenant over eligible non-minority candidates although he was not in the top five of the lieutenant promotional list. A black female was hired in spite of a “known criminal history and numerous racially motivated social media posts.”

Davis states in the complaint that Watson requires photos to be submitted with the paperwork for promotions, transfers, and special assignments and that the photo “serves no other purpose than to confirm the race of the employee.”

Davis submitted a complaint to Human Resources in August 2022 when a black male who was eighth on the promotion list was promoted to lieutenant over him. In January 2023, two white males were promoted to lieutenant, and Davis claims that this was an act of retaliation and “an effort to conceal discriminatory intent” because both had lower test scores and less supervisory experience than Davis.

The complaint asks the court to provide relief by “mandating [Watson’s] obedience to the laws,” providing financial damages, enjoining Watson from future violations of the law, and awarding attorney’s fees and costs.

Davis is represented by Tiffany R. Cruz of Cruz Law Firm in Tallahassee.

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NEWBERRY ‒ Trevarios Nelson Oliver, 21, was arrested just before 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, in Newberry and charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. Oliver is on probation following a 2020 arrest for armed robbery.

An Alachua County sheriff’s deputy reported that he was in his patrol car at the intersection of County Road 235 and Newberry Lane at about 1:41 a.m. when he saw a blue sedan turn onto CR 235 and then turn into Newberry Oaks. The sedan reportedly stopped in the roadway on Northwest 2^nd Lane, with the driver sitting inside the car.

The deputy turned on his lights to initiate a suspicious vehicle investigation and asked the driver, identified as Oliver, to step back to his patrol car. Oliver reportedly said he was in the area to pick up a friend and showed the deputy a text message from a friend. The deputy noted that the message had arrived at 5:20 p.m., about eight hours before his contact with Oliver.

Oliver provided the deputy with an ID card and reportedly advised that he did not have a driver’s license. The deputy wrote that he could smell marijuana coming from the car and asked Oliver if he had marijuana in the car. Oliver reportedly said there was a marijuana blunt in the car and that he did not have a medical marijuana card.

A search of Oliver reportedly produced a Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard 380 concealed in the front of his waistband with six rounds in the magazine. The serial number on the firearm was reported lost to the Alachua Police Department.

The deputy charged Oliver with unlawful possession of a concealed firearm. He was previously sentenced to six years of probation in 2021 as a youthful offender, with adjudication of guilt withheld, for armed robbery. About a month after the resolution of that case, 17 felony charges of burglary in 14 cases were dropped.

Bail is set at $50,000.

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ALACHUA ‒ Alachua’s summer camp recreation program at Legacy Park is gearing up. And with $66,665 from The Children's Trust of Alachua County, the camp is well on its way. At the Jan. 23 Alachua City Commission meeting, the Children’s Trust awarded the City funding for the program that has been running since 2018. Last year, The Children's Trust released funding grants for summer enrichment programming in various areas of the county and Alachua was awarded $66,665. This year the City reapplied for the upcoming 2023 summer camp and received the same amount as last year. The Alachua Recreation and Culture Department will hold the summer camp June 5 through July 28.

The City of Alachua is a recipient of a grant to support efforts to provide educational exhibits and signage of Mill Creek Preserve. The Duke Energy Foundation awarded $160,000 in grants to support eight local community projects in Alachua County to aid revitalization and local economic development efforts. This is the first grant Duke Energy Florida has awarded and the company worked alongside the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce Foundation to identify local projects that have meaningful impacts in North Central Florida communities.

The City of Alachua has been awarded $20,000 of that grant to support the City’s efforts to provide educational exhibits and signage at Mill Creek Preserve to inform residents and visitors about the Mill Creek Sink Water Quality Improvement Project.

In other City business, Jovante Hayes has been reappointed to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, which serves in an advisory role to the City Commission concerning recreation services and potential long-range capital improvements, as well as evaluate existing programs. Newly appointed to the board, Matthew Webster will join the five-member board that serves staggered three-year terms.

In other business, Leroy Marshall, Chief Professional Engineer with Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD), informed the Commission about Flood Risk Review meetings concerning its re-evaluation of flood risks based on development that changes the landscape. The review is intended to let both the public and businesses know whether they are in a flood zone for insurance and building purposes. The first step in the process is to hold public meetings in various parts of the county.

There will be a meeting in City of Alachua at City Hall from 5 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 22. Information on the maps can be found online through an interactive portal at SRWMD Virtual Tour or by going to the website at www.MySuwanneeriver.com. There are several stages before finalizing the review and changes to the current maps will not be finalized until 2025.

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ARCHER ‒ Julio Enrique Cambriere-Pabon, 48, of New York, was arrested at 3:24 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12, after allegedly entering a house where a woman was sitting on the sofa with an infant. The woman alerted her husband after the man who said his name was “Julio” refused to leave the house. When the husband challenged him at gunpoint, the subject fled the residence down the driveway.

An Alachua County sheriff’s deputy responded to the home near Archer Road and Southwest 173^rd Court after a caller reported that an unknown male was in the house. The couple provided a description of the man to the deputy and told him there were nine children in the house. The house is set about 200 yards back from the road and the door had been left unlocked.

Deputies made contact with a man walking down Archer Road about 150 yards from the address. The man fit the description given by the couple and he provided a New York ID card with the name Julio Cambier.

Post Miranda, he reportedly said he was in a dream and God told him to go to this house. He said that he knew nothing about the people who live there. When he was asked why he went inside the house, he reportedly said he “didn’t know.” He said he lives with his boss but could not recall his boss’ address or phone number.

Cambriere-Pabon has been charged with loitering/prowling. He has no local criminal history. Bail was set at $10,000 on first appearance. The suspect will be held for a mental health screening.

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ALACHUA COUNTY ‒ Alachua County Forever (ACF), the County’s environmental land acquisition program, has purchased 189 acres of land from Betty and Joel Matthews. The acquisition of this property protects over half a mile of frontage on the Santa Fe River. ACF purchases are funded by the Wild Spaces and Public Places initiative, which was re-authorized by voters in 2022. The one-half-cent sales tax provided funding for this $841,798 Matthews conservation land purchase. Since its inception Wild Spaces and Public Places has protected 32,879 acres in the county.

The Matthews property is the second Alachua County Forever acquisition of 2023 and is located west of CR 241 between Odom Preserve and Bonnet Lake Conservation Preserve along the Santa Fe River. According to ACF, protection of the Matthews property connects the family’s past history of land ownership in the County to the future and preserves their name to the conservation area. The Matthews family commitment to the protection of this land was critical to the conservation and purchase of this property.

This property protects the wetland floodplain forest and key uplands on the Santa Fe River’s south bank. The Santa Fe River is a unique, spring-fed system, the protection of which is one of the highest priorities of the Alachua County Forever program. Only one mile downstream from the property is an unnamed fourth-magnitude spring, and the first magnitude Santa Fe Spring is only 0.3 miles further. Protection of lands like the Matthews property helps to safeguard the drinking water supply of North Florida and protects the water quality of the river itself and the springs that flow into it.

Decades of efforts by public and private conservation partners have assembled an expanding corridor of protected land along the Santa Fe River which the purchase of this property helps secure further. The commitment of the Matthews family to the protection of this land was critical to the conservation of this property.

Future plans for the property include longleaf pine habitat restoration and nature-based public recreational access, highlighting a sweeping view over the floodplain forest into Union County and a pristine section of the Santa Fe River in Alachua County.

ACF was established in 2000 with the purpose of acquiring, improving, and managing environmentally significant lands that protect water resources, wildlife habitats and natural areas suitable for resource-based recreation. The preserves are purchased to protect and enhance the natural and cultural resources found on the properties. Some preserves own a variety of upland and wetland habitats, which provide wildlife habitat and support aquifer recharge. Some preserves are part of local and statewide efforts to protect and maintain significant wildlife corridors and protect areas of diverse habitats and relatively mature and diverse undisturbed forest within an area of Alachua County which is rapidly urbanizing and increasing in population.

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HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The City of High Springs is moving along with the roadway projects planned for this month.

Already completed are the “Northwest 237^th Street section that runs by the High Springs Brewery and the roadway on the north side of Bailey Estates,” said High Springs Public Information Officer Kevin Mangan.

On the verge of completion is Northwest 244^th Street between Northwest 199^th Lane and U.S. Highway 441 and the entrance to the Civic Center. City staff has worked closely with school administration and contractors to minimize impacts on student drop-off and pick-up at First Christian Academy as much as possible.

Still to be completed is the stretch of road on Northwest 238th Street that leads to the High Springs Sports Complex. Although no firm completion date is set, this road project is anticipated to be completed following the Northwest 244^th Street and Civic Center projects, said Mangan. As with all road construction, drivers are advised to slow down and do not drive too fast for conditions, be alert and pay attention to the signs and be patient.

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