LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
HCSO Community Resource Deputy Jeff Merry likes to keep residents informed about matters that affect them in the District 4 command area.
HCSO community resource deputy provides update for residents
By LOIS KINDLE
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Community Resource Deputy Jeff Merry strives to keep area residents in the know on matters that affect them in District 4. The following is a recap of just some of them:
HCSO PHOTO
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, left, recently promoted Dist. 4 Command Major Robert Ura to colonel. He will now lead the Department of Investigative Services.
• Earlier this month, Sheriff Chad Chronister promoted Major Robert Ura, our district commander since mid-2018, to the rank of colonel. He will now lead the HCSO’s Department of Investigative Services. Ura is being replaced by Dist. 4’s Capt. Robert Rodriguez, who was promoted to major and will assume his new duties as its commander as of Nov. 16.
• All Dist. 4 community resource, patrol and motor unit deputies are now wearing body cameras, Merry said. Through Bluetooth technology, the cameras automatically begin recording whenever deputies draw their service weapons, use their Tasers or open their vehicle’s prisoner door or activate its blue lights. Deputies can also manually activate the camera by pushing a button, he said.
Supervisors can view what any camera records in real time via live streaming. The tape cannot be erased by anyone except by the Department of Professional Standards.
Funding for the body cameras was approved by Hillsborough County commissioners in a 6-to-1 vote last June.
• The annual Deputy Darlins Christmas toy collection in South Shore has been cancelled this year due to concerns for the health and safety of everyone involved during the ongoing pandemic. Merry said the Aquasizers, a Sun City Center Community Association water aerobics group, and the Sun City Center Security Patrol are partnering with the United Methodist Church of Sun City Center and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Mission to collect donations of new, unwrapped toys from the public from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 1 in the patrol’s parking lot at 1225 Pebble Beach Blvd. N.
The event is strictly drive by. A volunteer will accept all donations as drivers drop them off without exiting their cars.
• Now that daylight hours are shortening, and we’re back on standard time, Merry is reminding golf cart drivers in Sun City Center that carts may only be driven between documented sunrise or sunset. Anyone caught outside of those hours can be issued a $168 ticket.
“It’s the law,” said Merry. “Florida statute 316.212 says a golf cart can’t drive on state or county roads. We have an exemption to that law during daylight hours for certain roadways in Sun City Center from South Bay Hospital to Publix to the north and south of S.R. 674.”
Kings Point and Valencia Lakes are excluded inside their boundaries because they have private roads, he said. But once they exit, they’re subject to the same rules of the road as everyone else in the community.
Merry has been busy issuing warnings and tickets to residents lately.
“I don’t like to give them, but I have to enforce the law,” he said. “The state reviews the number of accidents involving golf carts and the [number] of citations that are given. If we’re not careful, we could actually lose our exemption.”
• The next Operation Medicine Cabinet is set for Dec. 4 from 8 a.m. to noon at Community Hall, 1910 Pebble Beach Blvd. S, Sun City Center. Now is the time for folks to start going through their prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, vitamins and pet meds. Any that are expired or no longer used or needed should be gathered for this drive-through event, which is aimed at helping residents safely dispose of drugs to prevent harm to themselves or the environment.
In July, 1,500 pounds were turned in by area residents.
• An old scam targeting the elderly is back in the area, especially in Sun City Center. The computer tech scam is one where an annoying pop-up message or phone call warns that a virus or problem has been discovered on your computer and says you must pay now to get the issue fixed. Community Service Aide Michelle Mortimer said clicking on links, responding to phone calls or going online to find a number to call without verifying its validity can cost between $200 and $300, and people end up paying for a problem that doesn’t exist.
In the rest of the district, identity fraud is rampant, she said.
For help or more information, call Mortimer at 813-242-5515.
