PONS

Lincoln Community Center to House Mental Health Pilot Program

By Lynsey Kirk

The City of Tallahassee recently announced the creation of a Neighborhood-Based Mental Health Pilot Program which will be located at the Lincoln Center. The initiative will bring mental health services closer to neighborhoods.

Through the new program, residents can participate in up to three free one-on-one counseling sessions with a certified mental health provider, regardless of health insurance status. After the third free appointment, the mental health specialist can provide a referral to a community partner agency for more assistance, if needed.

The Neighborhood-Based Mental Health Pilot Program is a part of the city’s larger plan to create “Resilience Hubs”, to enhance public safety and quality of life for Tallahassee citizens. To carry out the new program and build Resilience Hubs, the city is enhancing some of its existing facilities, including the Lincoln Center.

Mayor John Dailey stated in the announcement that “supporting our community’s mental health needs is a top priority for our City. I am proud that we continue to innovate and find new ways to reach our residents in need and connect them to free counseling. This new service can help members of our community navigate, or prevent, a crisis with the guidance of a mental health professional.”

Individual counseling sessions are available by appointment from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Lincoln Center. To make an appointment, you can call (850) 523-3333, extension 3221.

New Time

12 Noon - 1 pm

WEEKLY CRIME TRACKER

The tables and charts below track public safety data in Tallahassee and Leon County.

The first set of data tracks crime incidents as reported by the Tallahassee Police Department. The table compares selected property and violent crime incidents in 2021 to the same time period during 2020.

This weeks report shows the continuing trend of lower property crimes, but higher violent crime incidents. The second set of data tracks arrests in Leon County as provided by the Leon County Sheriff's Office.

The data shows that arrests 2021 are mirroring the number of arrests in 2020.

For more information on the data behind the Weekly Crime Tracker visit tallahasseereports.com

YTD TPD Incident Comparisons

Jan 1 - Aug 22 2020 2021 Chg %Chg

Total incidents

2521 2365 -156 -6.2%

-- Property

Auto Burglary & Theft 1886 1609 -277 -14.7% 1259 1033 -226 -18.0%

Res. & Comm. Burglaries 627 576 -51 -8.1%

--Violent

635 756 121 19.1%

Assault & Battery Sexual Battery Robbery 380 505 125 32.9% 107 117 10 9.3% 148 134 -14 -9.5%

YTD Incident Category Comparisons

Jan 1 -Aug 22

1500

1000

500

0 1259 1033

Auto Burglary & Theft 2020 2021

627 576 380 505

107 117 148 134

Res. & Comm. Burglaries Assault & Battery Sexual Battery Robbery

J.T. Burnett Found Guilty on Five Charges

U.S. Attorney Press Release

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – A federal jury in Tallahassee has convicted John Thomas Burnette, 44, of Tallahassee, Florida of one count of Extortion Under Color of Official Right, two counts of Honest Services Fraud by Bribery, one count of Use of Interstate Commerce Facilities to Promote Bribery, and one count of Making False Statements to a Federal Officer. The guilty verdict was returned August 13, 2021, at the conclusion of a fifteen-day trial.

Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, Jason R. Coody, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Rachel Rojas of the FBI’s Jacksonville Field Office made the announcement.

In December 2018, a federal grand jury charged Tallahassee City Commissioner Scott Maddox and Paige Carter-Smith in a forty-four count indictment. In May 2019, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment adding Burnette as a defendant. Maddox and Carter-Smith subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of Honest Services Fraud by Bribery and one count of Conspiring to Interfere with the Lawful Function of the IRS. In October 2019, a grand jury returned a second superseding indictment against Burnette.

At trial, the government presented evidence that Burnette engaged in a multi-year scheme with Maddox and Carter-Smith to commit extortion, fraud, and bribery. During the scheme, Burnette and Maddox extorted bribe payments from FBI undercover agents (“UCs”) who were posing as real estate developers and entrepreneurs. Burnette instructed the UCs that to obtain preferential treatment, they must pay bribes to Maddox through Governance Services. Burnette, Maddox, Carter-Smith, and the UCs agreed that the UCs would pay Governance Services $10,000 per month in exchange for Maddox agreeing to perform official acts meant to benefit the UCs’ sham development company.

In 2017, FBI agents approached Burnette, identified themselves as FBI agents, and asked Burnette about his involvement in the bribe payments to Maddox. During the interview, Burnette repeatedly lied about his knowledge of the UCs’ payments to and involvement with Maddox.

“Today’s verdict affirms a multi-year investigation of public corruption in the City of Tallahassee,”stated Acting U.S. Attorney Coody. “Our citizens deserve and expect that those in public office will act in the public’s interest, rather than their own and that of their confederates. Those who violate their oath and betray the public’s trust will be the subject of this office and our law enforcement partners’ unwavering efforts, which will continue beyond this verdict.”

“Our citizens are entitled to decisions based on the best interests of the public, not the best interests of corrupt public officials and bribepaying business owners seeking to line their own pocketbooks,” said Rachel L. Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division.

“Let there be no doubt – bribes are not good business in Tallahassee, nor anywhere else. The FBI remains fully committed to ensuring that anyone who violates the public’s trust is held accountable.”

Burnette’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 28, 2021, at 1:00 pm at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before the Honorable United States District Judge Robert L. Hinkle.

Burnette faces maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for Counts Two, Five, and Six (the Extortion and Honest Services Fraud offenses) and 5 years for Counts Eight and Nine (the Use of Interstate Facilities to Promote Bribery and Making False Statements to a Federal Officer offenses).

Scott Maddox and Paige CarterSmith’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 9, 2021, at 10:00 am at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before the Honorable United States

District Judge Robert L. Hinkle. Both Maddox and Smith face maximum penalties of 20 years in prison for the Honest Services Wire Fraud and Honest Services Mail Fraud offenses and 5 years in prison for the Conspiracy to Defraud the United States offense.

The conviction was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The case against Maddox and Carter-Smith was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen M. Kunz, and Andrew J. Grogan of the Northern District of Florida, and Deputy Chief Peter M. Nothstein, and Trial Attorney Rosaleen T. O’Gara of the Department of Justice, Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

YTD Arrest Comparisons

Jan 1 -Aug 22 2020 2021 Change %Change

Total Arrests 4455 4434 -21 -0.5% --Jail 3207 3194 -13 -0.4% --Violent 1189 990 -199 -16.7% --Drug 642 909 267 41.6% --Property 1228 874 -354 -28.8% --Weapons 490 435 -55 -11.2%

3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 3207 YTD Arrest Category Comparisons

Jan 1 -Aug 22

3194

2020 2021

1189

1228 990 909 874 642 490 435

Jackie Pons Takes Principal Job in Jefferson County

PONS, From Front Page

as the transition principal at JeffersonSomerset K-12.

Jackie Pons, a former school superintendent in Leon County, has been appointed the transition principal, a role he will share with Somerset’s current principal, Cory Oliver. Pons is expected to permanently fill the principal role in 2022. For two weeks prior to school starting, Pons had been on campus working with Oliver to help make the transition a success. He has also met with many parents at an open house and had received a warm reception from the community.

Superintendent Eydie Tricquet introduced Pons to the Jefferson County School Board on August 9th. According to the Jefferson County Journal, the Board members welcomed him, stating they had heard positive comments from parents who were planning to return their children to school. Pons said he is excited to be at Somerset and if he can prove himself, he plans on being there for a while. Pons explained, in an interview with the news, that he will be learning about the school system from top to bottom by shadowing Oliver. He said that Oliver will be running the daily operations while he learns about the protocols and procedures. He added that his goal is to continue improving the school’s academic performance and attracting back the many students who have opted to pursue other avenues for their education, such as homeschooling and private schools. Pons began his career as a teacher at Rickards High School in Leon County. He then became assistant principal at Rickards and then the principal at Deer Lake Middle School. In 2006 he became Leon County school superintendent, replacing Bill Montford. Pons served as superintendent for 10 years, before he lost to Leon County’s current superintendent, Rocky Hanna.